By the time most women find out they’re expecting, they’re already four to eight weeks pregnant, which is about halfway through your first trimester. It’s a time where emotions are heightened and new moms may be experiencing undesirable symptoms, such as nausea or food aversions that may make it difficult to crave a healthy diet. But good nutrition is crucial throughout your pregnancy because it supports both maternal physiological adaptations and fetal growth and development.1
By only eight weeks gestational age, all essential organs and bones are beginning to form in your baby. And your nutritional health history and current lifestyle are influencing important pregnancy outcomes for both mom and baby. This can determine gestational hypertension and diabetes, preterm delivery, and fetal growth restriction. Additionally, your nutritional intake during pregnancy and early life impact not only physical development, but also the risks of congenital anomalies, cognitive and behavioral development, and metabolic adaptations that can affect long-term risk of obesity and future diseases.2 In short, a nutritious diet runs parallel with a healthy pregnancy. To set yourself up for success, here are six important nutrients and the food sources where you can find them to incorporate into your diet during your first trimester.
What to Eat in Your 1st Trimester
1. Iron
Your body needs iron to increase blood production so nutrients and oxygen can be delivered to the placenta. Iron deficiency in pregnancy is the most common nutrient deficiency worldwide and is associated with the risk of low birth weight and preterm delivery, according to a recent study, Macronutrient and Micronutrient Intake During Pregnancy. Food sources of iron include meat, poultry, fish, legumes, dark green veggies, fortified cereals, and grains.
2. Folate
Folate is important in the early stages of pregnancy where there is rapid tissue growth, neural tube formation, brain development, and DNA synthesis. Foods that contain folate include green leafy veggies, legumes, citrus, fortified breakfast cereals, and grains. Supplementation during preconception and early pregnancy can prevent forty to eighty percent of neural tube defects.
3. Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is essential for neural tube formation and the development of the neurological function. B12 insufficiency affects 25 percent of pregnancies worldwide and impacts cell growth and nerve tissue development. Vitamin B12 is only found in animal products, so those who follow a vegan or limited vegetarian diet may require additional supplementation. Dietary sources include dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.
4. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is necessary for skeletal development, regulating gene expression, and immune function. Women require more vitamin D than normal during pregnancy to support their baby’s growth and development. It is estimated that forty to 98 percent of pregnant women globally are vitamin D deficient. And women who live in environments with minimal sun exposure, have darker complexions, or who protect their skin from sun exposure are at a higher risk for insufficient levels of vitamin D. Opt for food sources such as fatty fish (like light-canned tuna, mackerel, and salmon), egg yolk and dairy.
5. Iodine
Iodine is required for thyroid hormone production, which increases by fifty percent in early pregnancy and is essential for brain and nervous system development. The best sources of iodine are seaweed, seafood, and iodized salt.
6. Choline
Choline is an essential nutrient that is critical for brain development, neural tube formation, and cellular growth and metabolism. Deficits in early life can have a long term impact on brain function. Ninety to 95 percent of pregnant women do not meet adequate intakes for choline.3 Rich sources of choline include eggs, beef, fish, poultry, dairy, soybeans, wheat germ, shiitake mushrooms, kidney beans, and red potatoes.
Prenatal Vitamins for Your 1st Trimester
In addition to the healthy foods in your grocery cart, it's equally as important to add a prenatal vitamin to your pregnancy routine to keep up with your increased nutritional needs at this time. But not all prenatal vitamins are the same. When shopping for a prenatal vitamin look for clean, high-quality ingredients in absorbable—or bioavailable—formats. Meaning: Your body can actually use all the nutritional ingredients in your prenatal. In addition, pregnancy is such a complex time. And what your body (and baby!) needs in early pregnancy is different than later pregnancy. That's why Perelel prenatal vitamins were made by leading OB/GYNs and maternal-fetal medicine doctors and deliver targeted nutrients for each unique trimester of pregnancy. So you're not only nourishing your growing baby, but also alleviating mom's pregnancy symptoms, too.*
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Be sure to complement your healthy diet with the 1st Trimester Prenatal Pack complete with targeted nutrients formulated for the unique needs of the 1st trimester. We want to hear how your pregnancy journey is going! Join the Perelel community on social or subscribe to our newsletter to be a part of the conversation.
1 Dietitians of Canada. Dcjournal.ca. https://dcjournal.ca/journal/cjdpr.
2 Wiley.com.
3 Mousa A, Naqash A, Lim S. Macronutrient and micronutrient intake during pregnancy: An overview of recent evidence. Nutrients. 2019;11(2). doi:10.3390/nu11020443
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and we recommend that you always consult with your healthcare provider. To the extent that this article features the advice of physicians or medical practitioners, the views expressed are the views of the cited expert and do not necessarily represent the views of Perelel.