Your Care Instructions

Healthy eating when you are pregnant is important for you and your baby. It can help you feel well and have a successful pregnancy and delivery. During pregnancy your nutrition needs increase. Even if you have excellent eating habits, your doctor or midwife may recommend a multivitamin to make sure you get enough iron and folic acid.

Many pregnant women wonder how much weight they should gain.

Women who are pregnant with one baby

• Underweight (body mass index (BMI) less than 18.5): Try to gain about 12.5 kg to 18 kg.
• Normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9): Try to gain about 11.5 kg to 16 kg.
• Overweight (BMI 25.0 to 29.9): Try to gain about 7 kg to 11.5 kg.
• Obese (BMI 30 or higher): Try to gain about 5 kg to 9 kg.

Women who are pregnant with twins

• Normal weight: Try to gain about 17 kg to 25 kg.
• Overweight (BMI 25.0 to 29.9): Try to gain about 14 kg to 23 kg.
• Obese (BMI 30 or higher): Try to gain about 11 kg to 19 kg.

If you are having twins or more, your doctor or midwife may refer you to a dietitian.

How can you care for yourself at home?

• Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit. Include a variety of orange, yellow, and leafy dark-green vegetables every day.
• Choose whole-grain bread, cereal, and pasta. Good choices include whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and oatmeal.
• Include milk and alternatives each day. Good choices include low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese. If you cannot eat milk products, you can get calcium from calcium-fortified products such as orange juice, soy beverage, and tofu. Other non-milk sources of calcium include leafy green vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, bok choy, and Brussels sprouts.
• If you eat meat, pick lower-fat types. Good choices include lean cuts of meat and chicken or turkey without the skin.
• Limit how much liver and liver products (such as liverwurst or liver sausage) you eat. Liver is high in iron, folate, and vitamin A. Too much vitamin A may cause birth defects. If you eat liver, ask your doctor about how much is right for you.
• Limit how much high-mercury fish you eat.
  • Do not eat more than 150 g of high-mercury fish in a month. These include fresh or frozen tuna (not canned "light" tuna), shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, and escolar.
  • Do not eat more than 300 g of canned (white) albacore tuna each week.
• Eat two or more servings of fish a week that are lower in mercury. These include salmon, rainbow trout, pollock, herring, shrimp, mussels, clams, oysters, and canned "light" tuna.
• Do not eat raw or undercooked eggs, meat, poultry, or seafood. Heat all deli meats, hot dogs, refrigerated meat spreads, and refrigerated smoked seafood to 74° C before eating. Do not eat or drink raw or unpasteurized dairy products and fruit juices. Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables. Avoid all sprouts, even if cooked.
• Do not eat pasteurized or unpasteurized soft, semi-soft, or blue-veined cheeses, such as havarti, brie, camembert, and Mexican-style cheese (like queso fresco or queso blanco). They have a bacteria that could harm your baby.
• Avoid caffeine, or limit your intake to 300 mg or about 2 cups of coffee or tea each day. Caffeine is also found in soda pop.
• Do not drink any alcohol. No amount of alcohol has been found to be safe during pregnancy.
• Do not diet or try to lose weight. For example, do not follow a low-carbohydrate diet. If you are overweight at the start of your pregnancy, your doctor will work with you to manage your weight gain.
• Tell your doctor about all medicines and natural health products you take.