I'm pregnant; Do I need to change my diet?

Do I need to change my diet?

Pregnancy is a great time to make healthy eating a part of your lifestyle. Some basic steps are:

• Eat a variety of different healthy foods especially fruit andvegetables
• Eat fewer foods that have a high sugar and fat content, such as snack foods and takeaways
• Don’t skip meals, particularly breakfast
• Aim for three serves per day of protein-rich foods. Make varied choices from fish, legumes, nuts, eggs and dairy products
• Drink plenty of water, aiming for up to 10 glasses (2 to 3 litres) of filtered water per day

What foods should I avoid during pregnancy?

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that is found in some foods. It can cause an infection called listeriosis which can be dangerous in pregnancy. During pregnancy it is therefore best to avoid foods that may contain Listeria bacteria. These include: soft cheeses such as brie, fetta, camembert, ricotta and blue vein; pate, cold meats including cold cooked chicken (as used in chicken sandwiches); pre-prepared, stored and salad bar salads; any food prepared and stored in the fridge for more than twelve hours. Avoid raw and smoked seafood. Limit the overall amount of fish you eat from 9 weeks prior to and during your pregnancy. While fish is recognised as a healthy food, some fish contain high mercury levels which may be harmfulto the baby. Current guidelines recommend that you limit your fish intake to:

• one serve a week of orange roughy (sea perch), catfish, and no other fish that week, or
• one serve a fortnight of shark (flake), billfish (swordfish,broadbill, marlin) and then no other fish that fortnight, or
• two to three serves of any other fish a week.