How to Eat to Prepare for a Healthy Pregnancy

Although you may think that your diet becomes important only after you've taken a positive pregnancy test, the time leading up to your pregnancy is important for prenatal well-being as well. By making changes to your diet prior to conception, you can help prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy. During the initial weeks of pregnancy, you may not even realize that you are pregnant. Start by improving your diet before you get pregnant to ensure that you eat well throughout the entire term.

Instructions

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      Consult a registered dietician prior to pregnancy to receive professional recommendations regarding caloric intake and diet. A dietician can assess your current diet and weight and make recommendations for appropriate daily caloric consumption, balanced food choices and portion sizes to ensure a healthy pre-pregnancy diet.

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      Consume foods high in folic acid to ensure that your diet is rich in this vitamin, suggests the Ohio State University. Foods high in folic acid include beans, leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, nuts and breakfast cereals fortified with folic acid.

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      Take a prenatal vitamin that contains a variety of important vitamins and minerals, as well as at least 400 micrograms of folic acid, which helps prevent neural tube birth defects.

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      Cut out alcohol as you prepare for pregnancy, recommends the March of Dimes website. Avoiding alcohol before you become pregnant reduces your chance of consuming it before you realize you̵7;re pregnant.

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      Avoid eating raw eggs and undercooked meat and poultry prior to pregnancy, because these foods may cause illness such as salmonella and toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. Some types of fish are high in mercury, including shark, swordfish and mackerel. Mercury may harm an unborn child's developing nervous system, warns the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Choose low-mercury fish such as salmon, catfish and canned tuna, limiting servings to 12 ounces or less per week.

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      Eat foods high in iron to fight anemia, which is common in pregnancy, advises Childbirth Connection. By consuming fish, red meat, poultry, beans, pasta, lentils and iron-fortified cereals, you can increase your iron levels. Add fruits such as oranges, cantaloupe and strawberries and vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes and broccoli to your diet to increase iron absorption.

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