This guide offers everyday advice on food and drinks during pregnancy. Your Mulberry care team will tailor it to your medical history, symptoms, and pregnancy. Bring your questions to your visits, and follow your individualized care plan.
Build meals around variety
Try to include vegetables, fruit, whole grains, protein, and calcium-rich foods. Good protein choices are cooked eggs, beans, lentils, tofu, poultry, and cooked low-mercury fish. Choose pasteurized dairy or fortified alternatives. A simple meal might be rice, cooked fish or tofu, and vegetables. A snack might be yogurt and fruit.
Take your prenatal vitamin
Take a prenatal vitamin every day as directed. Don’t double up on doses or add high-dose supplements without checking with us first. Even with a prenatal vitamin, some nutrients may need extra attention.
- Folate: aim for 600 micrograms daily from food and supplements. Ask us which prenatal vitamin is right for you.
- Iron: pregnancy needs are generally 27 mg daily. Take extra iron only as your clinician advises, based on your blood results.
- Calcium: adults generally need 1,000 mg daily; pregnant teens need 1,300 mg.
- Choline: aim for 450 mg daily. Good sources are eggs, soy, meat, and dairy. Many prenatal vitamins contain little or none.
Make room for your needs
Please tell us if you have food allergies, follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, have trouble eating, or have had bariatric surgery. If you have diabetes or develop gestational diabetes, follow your individualized nutrition and glucose plan. Don’t start a restrictive diet or cut out all carbohydrates on your own.
Learn more
UCLA Health — Nutrition During Pregnancy
https://www.uclahealth.org/medical-services/birthplace/pregnancy-education/prenatal-education/your-pregnancy/nutrition-during-pregnancy
Food Safety and Drinks
Choose safer foods
- Avoid raw or undercooked meat, fish, shellfish, and eggs. Cook eggs until yolks and whites are firm, or use pasteurized eggs for recipes that won’t be fully cooked.
- Use pasteurized milk and juice. Avoid raw-milk cheese. Heat deli-sliced cheese and queso fresco-type cheeses to 165°F or until steaming hot.
- Heat deli meats, cold cuts, and hot dogs to 165°F or until steaming hot before eating.
- Wash produce. Avoid raw sprouts and refrigerated smoked seafood unless cooked in a dish. Choose freshly prepared salads instead of premade deli salads.
- Keep raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods. Wash hands and kitchen surfaces. Refrigerate perishable foods promptly.
Fish can be part of a healthy diet
Aim for 2–3 servings a week, 8–12 ounces in total, from the FDA’s “Best Choices” list. Good examples are salmon, shrimp, sardines, and pollock. Eat fish fully cooked. Avoid high-mercury fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, bigeye tuna, orange roughy, marlin, and Gulf of Mexico tilefish. Check local advisories for fish you catch.
Water, caffeine, and alcohol
Drink water throughout the day, especially when you’re active or it’s hot out. Follow any fluid instructions from your clinician. Keep caffeine below 200 mg a day, counting coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, and other sources. The amount of caffeine in coffee varies widely. Avoid alcohol during pregnancy. Ask us before using herbal products, energy drinks, or supplements.
Learn more
CDC — Safer Food Choices for Pregnant Women
https://www.cdc.gov/food-safety/foods/pregnant-women.html
FDA — Advice About Eating Fish
https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/advice-about-eating-fish
ACOG — Healthy Eating During Pregnancy
https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/nutrition-during-pregnancy