See your doctor or midwife as soon as possible
As soon as you find out you’re pregnant, get yourself registered for antenatal care. Make an appointment with your GP or a midwife at your local surgery or children’s centre. Or register online with your local maternity service.
Organising your care early means you’ll get good advice for a healthy pregnancy right from the start. You’ll also have plenty of time to organise your diary for ultrasound scans and tests that you may need.
2. Eat well
Aim to eat a healthy, balanced diet whenever you can. This means having:
At least five portions of fruit and vegetables daily. Fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juice all count.
Starchy foods (carbohydrates), such as bread, pasta and rice. Carbohydrates need to make up just over a third of what you eat. Choose wholegrain varieties rather than white, so you get plenty of fibre.
Daily servings of protein, such as fish, lean meat, eggs, beans, nuts or pulses.
Dairy foods, such as milk, cheese and yoghurt.
Two portions of fish a week, at least one of which should be oily, such as salmon, sardines or mackerel.
Fish is full of protein, vitamin D, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for the development of your baby’s nervous system.
If you don’t like fish, you can get omega-3 fatty acids from other foods, such as nuts, seeds, soya products and green leafy vegetables.
You don’t need to eat for two when you’re pregnant. You don’t need extra calories for the first six months of pregnancy.
In the last three months you’ll only need another 200 calories a day.
Stay well hydrated too. The amount of water in your body increases during pregnancy to help you maintain healthy blood pressure levels.
Try to have about eight glasses of fluid, such as water, fruit teas, skimmed or semi-skimmed milk or fresh fruit juice every day.
Take a supplement
You need to take folic acid for at least the first three months and vitamin D for the whole of your pregnancy and beyond.
Taking folic acid reduces the risk of your baby developing a neural tube defect such as spina bifida. Some women need to take a higher dose of 5mg per day, so check with your GP or midwife what the best dose is for you.
You also need a daily supplement of 10mcg of vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for the development of your baby’s skeleton and future bone health.
If you’re worried you’re not eating well, or you’re too sick to eat much, you may want to take your folic acid and vitamin D in a multivitamin.
If your diet is good but you don’t eat fish, you could take a fish oil supplement. Choose a supplement labelled omega-3 oil rather than fish liver oil. This is because fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil, may contain the retinol form of vitamin A, which may harm your unborn baby.
Talk to your GP, midwife or a pharmacist before taking supplements, other than the necessary folic acid or vitamin D. It’s always better to have a balanced diet, if you can, rather than relying on multivitamins.
If you’re on a low income, you may be able to get free pregnancy vitamin supplements under the government’s healthy start scheme.
Be careful about food hygiene
Thoroughly wash utensils, boards and your hands after handling raw meat. Store raw foods separately from ready-to-eat foods. Food hygiene is especially important now you’re pregnant.
There are also some foods it’s safest not to eat in pregnancy. This is because they can harbour bacteria or parasites that pose a health risk for your baby.
Listeriosis is an infection caused by listeria bacteria. Although it’s rare for pregnant women to be affected by it, it can have serious effects.
Listeriosis can lead to miscarriage, a baby being seriously ill after birth, or even being stillborn.