Diet & Nutrition During Pregnancy

Diet

During pregnancy, we recommend eating a diet similar to the Mediterranean diet, which translates to “eating close to the earth.” This nutrition principle encourages you to peel and chop your food, eat lean proteins and healthy fats, and avoid pre-packaged foods. If it comes out of a bag or a box, it is probably not of much value to you or your growing baby.

• Dairy: Your preference of dairy products – milk, yogurt, cheese
• Protein: 70-100 grams per day
• Calcium: 1200 mg per day
• 8-12 cups of water per day
• Moderate caffeine intake of 1-3 servings per day is acceptable

If you choose to eat deli meat, we recommend heating them to 160 degrees (until steaming). It is important to have iodized salt in your diet, as opposed to only sea salts.

Avoid

• Unpasteurized cheese and raw milk
• Undercooked meat or fish
• Large fish, including king mackerel, swordfish, tile fish, and albacore tuna
• Smoking cigarettes
• Alcohol consumption

Nutrition

Nutrition in pregnancy isn’t about perfection — it’s about making thoughtful, supportive choices that honor your changing body. Throughout your care, we’ll guide you in understanding what your body needs, helping you build habits that feel realistic, empowering, and aligned with your overall well being. You can start by remembering to always take your vitamins. Your prenatal vitamins or a whole food supplement daily with at least the ingredients below:

• 400mcg folate
• 400 iu D3
• 100mcg iodine
• Omega-3 (minimum 1500mg combined DHA+EPA daily)

Continue your nutritional pregnancy journey by staying consistently hydrated. Aim for 8–12 cups of water per day to support your overall health and your baby’s development.

If you’d like a more personalized approach to nutrition counseling, we recommend Patricia Lane, a board certified Registered Dietitian. She can be reached at 772 266 0203 and accepts most major insurance plans.

Exercise

Staying active during pregnancy is one of the most supportive ways you can care for your changing body and growing baby. Safe, regular movement can boost energy, improve mood, ease common discomforts, and prepare your body for labor and postpartum recovery. We encourage you to continue with your normal exercise routines during your pregnancy. Regular exercise during pregnancy has several benefits, including:

• Reduces back pain
• May help to ease constipation
• Decrease your risk of gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and cesarean birth
• Promotes healthy weight gain during pregnancy
• Improves your overall fitness and strengthens your heart and blood vessels

Some helpful guidelines when exercising include:

• Be cautious of signs for overexertion or abdominal cramping.
• Remember to increase your hydration during and after exercise with water and electrolytes.
• Wear a sports bra that provides support to help protect your breasts.
• Avoid standing still or lying flat on your back as much as possible. When you lie on your back, your uterus presses on a large vein that returns blood to the heart. Standing motionless can cause blood to pool in your legs and feet. These positions may cause your blood pressure to decrease for a short time.

Which exercises are best? Experts agree these exercises are safest for pregnant women:

• Walking—Brisk walking gives a total body workout and is easy on the joints and muscles.
• Swimming and water workouts—Water workouts use many of the body’s muscles. The water supports your weight, so you avoid injury and muscle strain.
• Stationary bicycling—Because your growing belly can affect your balance and make you more susceptible to falls, riding a standard bicycle during pregnancy can be risky. We recommend cycling on a stationary bike if that is your preferred method of exercise.
• Modified yoga and modified Pilates. Yoga can help reduce stress, improve flexibility, and encourages stretching and focused breathing. We recommend that you look for a prenatal yoga and a Pilates class that is designed for pregnant women. *** AVOID Hot yoga or Hot Pilates. ***

Because we get asked this all the time — let’s talk about sex during pregnancy. YES — intercourse is safe for most women with healthy, uncomplicated pregnancies. And NO — it will not harm your baby. You might notice some cramping or light spotting after sex, and orgasms can also cause temporary cramping. This is usually normal. However, if you experience severe or persistent cramping or heavy bleeding (like a period), please call us at (561) 300-0600.

That said, how you feel about sex during pregnancy can change — and that’s completely normal.

• First trimester: fatigue and nausea may lower your interest
• Second trimester: energy often returns, and so might your sex drive
• Third trimester: desire may decrease again

There’s no “right” way to feel. Some women want sex, some don’t — both are normal.
Most importantly, communicate openly with your partner and do what feels right for you.