You want what's best for your baby. That's why you add sliced fruit to your fortified breakfast cereal, top your salads with chickpeas and snack on almonds. But do you know what foods to avoid during pregnancy? Here's help understanding pregnancy nutrition basics.
Seafood can be a great source of protein, and the omega-3 fatty acids in many fish can promote your baby's brain and eye development. However, some fish and shellfish contain potentially dangerous levels of mercury. Too much mercury could harm your baby's developing nervous system. The bigger and older the fish, the more mercury it's likely to contain. During pregnancy, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) encourages you to avoid:
While caffeine can cross the placenta, the effects on your baby aren't clear. To be safe, your health care provider might recommend avoiding or limiting the amount of caffeine in your diet to less than 200 milligrams (mg) a day during pregnancy.
For perspective, an 8-ounce (240-milliliters, or mL) cup of brewed coffee contains about 95 mg of caffeine, an 8-ounce (240-mL) cup of brewed tea contains about 47 mg and a 12-ounce (360-mL) caffeinated cola contains about 33 mg.
No level of alcohol has been proved safe during pregnancy. The safest bet is to avoid alcohol entirely.
Consider the risks. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy leads to a higher risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Drinking alcohol may also result in fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause facial deformities and intellectual disability.
If you're concerned about alcohol you drank before you knew you were pregnant or you think you need help to stop drinking, consult your health care provider.
| Week Days | Pre Breakfast Snack | Morning Breakfast | Mid Morning Snack | Lunch | Evening Snack | Dinner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | 8-12 pieces of dry fruits including cashew nuts, almonds, and raisins. | Moongdal chilla-3 +pudina/coconut chutney-2 tsp | Blueberry shake (1 cup) | 1.5 cup Mutton biryani + Cucumber onion Raita (½ cup) | Sweet potato salad (cooked with 200 gms of sweet potato, 1 pinch of chat masala, and 1 tsp lemon juice) + light tea (1 cup) | Wheat dosa 3 + ½ cup bitter gourd sabji |
| Day 2 | Homemade fruit juice with strawberries, pomegranate, guava, or oranges (1 glass) | Wheat dosa-4 + Tomato sabji (½ cup) | Vegetable soup made with brocolli and garlic (1 bowl) | 1.5 cup rice + 1 piece of chicken + 1 cup broccoli sabji | Mixed fruit salad made of mangoes, bananas, and berries of your choice (1 medium-sized plate) | Moongdal chilla-3 +pudina/coconut chutney-2 tsp |
| Day 3 | Banana milkshake (1 glass) | Veggie-rich sevai or upma (1 cup) + 2 medium-sized parathas | Kaddu ka soup or pumpkin soup (1 bowl) | 1.5 cup Mutton biryani + Cucumber onion Raita (½ cup) | 10-14 pieces of dry fruits | Multigrain toast (2 in no.) with two sunny side up eggs |
| Day 4 | Carrot juice (1 glass) | Oatmeal (1 cup) + 2 boiled eggs | Veggie-rich poha (1 cup) + 2 moong dal chillas | Banana milkshake (1 glass) | 1.5 cup rice, 1 piece mutton + 1 bowl masoor daal | Mixed fruit salad made of mangoes, bananas, and berries of your choice (1 medium-sized plate) |
| Day 5 | 1 plain glass of milk | Veggie-rich poha (1 cup) + 2 moong dal chillas | Tamatar or tomato soup (1 bowl) | 1.5 cup chicken biryani + cucumber onion raita (½ cup) | Vegetable salad (1 plate) made with carrots, cucumber, and onions | Multigrain toast (2 in no.) with two sunny side up eggs |
| Day 6 | Banana milkshake (1 glass) | Oatmeal (1 cup) + 2 boiled eggs | Kaddu or pumpkin soup (1 bowl) | 1.5 cup rice, 1 piece mutton + 1 bowl masoor daal | 10-14 pieces of dry fruits including cashew nuts, almonds, and raisins | Wheat dosa-4 + Tomato sabji (½ cup) |
| Day 7 | 1 plain glass of milk | Veggie-rich sevai or upma (1 cup) + 2 medium-sized parathas | Peach milkshake (1 glass) | 1.5 cup vegetable khichdi + 1 piece chicken + 1 small bowl of dahi | 1 medium-sized avocado with 1 spoon of peanut butter | Veggie-rich poha (1 cup) + 2 moong dal chillas |