Pregnancy Nutrition: What To Eat And When Based On Baby’s Development

Are you pregnant? Do you know what to eat when your baby’s heart is developing early in the first trimester? Or what to eat when your baby’s skeleton and brain are growing like crazy in the third trimester?

Do you know exactly how your prenatal supplement and real, whole food diet is making your baby the healthiest little person possible?

I’m not pregnant anymore, but I’m still obsessed with anything pregnancy, birth, and baby related!

Let’s begin our discussion with a brief explanation of how baby grows during pregnancy, trimester-by-trimester, and then delve into the nutrients that every woman should eat while she’s pregnant.

Note: I say “he” throughout this post, referring to baby. This is because I recently had a baby boy! Of course, if you’re pregnant with a little girl, feel free to read “she” in place of “he”.

The First Trimester

A lot happens during the first trimester. All of the major structures in your baby’s body are in place by the end of it!

By 9 weeks, not only is your baby’s heart developmentally complete, but he’s had bones and muscles since week 4, his GI tract is forming, his kidneys are just beginning to function, and his liver has been functioning for weeks now. He is even producing thyroid and adrenal hormones, and brainwaves can be detected!

Soon your baby will start growing tiny finger and toenails!

By week 11 or 12, your baby can breathe, swim, turn somersaults, and suck his thumb. His external genitalia is also fully differentiated.

He’s started to store iron in his liver, too. Did you know that if maternal intake is sufficient, babies can store enough iron to sustain themselves for up to 5 months after birth?

(Maternity & Women’s Health Care, 10th edition, pages 279-283.)

The Second Trimester

Your baby is now covered with lanugo and vernix which protect his skin from amniotic fluid. Meconium in his intestines ensures that the intestinal walls stay separated instead of sticking together.

In baby girls, oogenesis (the production of eggs) begins as early as 16 weeks!

Bones are ossifying, and by week 20 your baby is producing insulin. By the 5th month, he can taste and swallow.

Finally, by 24 weeks, he responds to sound.

(Maternity & Women’s Health Care, 10th edition, pages 281-283.)

The Third Trimester

Your baby will assume his birth position sometime in this trimester! Fat starts accumulating and brain development skyrockets. His bones keep ossifying, too. In fact, your baby deposits up to 350 mg of calcium per day into his skeleton (source)!

By the 7th month, he has rods and cones in his retina so he can see.

By week 36, baby’s digestive system is mature. Most digestive enzymes are present too, although he can’t digest starches or fats efficiently yet.

Lanugo and vernix are slowly disappearing. By the time a full-term baby is born, his brain is 1/4 the size of an adult’s brain.

(Maternity & Women’s Health Care, 10th edition, pages 281-282.)

Pregnancy Nutrition (What To Eat When Based On Baby’s Development)

It’s important for the pregnant woman to eat plenty of protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates. This is to supply the energy and building blocks required to grow a baby and sustain the mother as well.

Not only must mom’s body grow new tissue — including baby, placenta, and amniotic sac — she must grow her uterus to support the baby and her breasts to support breastfeeding. She makes more blood, lays down fat deposits, and expends more energy due to increased body mass. It’s not easy!

Now that we understand the big picture of baby’s development throughout pregnancy. Next, let’s discover how each of the major vitamins and minerals help him on his way… and support the mother as well.

Keep in mind that it’s important to eat all of these things in balance. For instance, Vitamin D3 with Vitamin K2, folate with zinc, and iron with Vitamin C, omega-3s with omega-6s for their mediating and enhancing effects on one another. We’ll go into this in more detail below. 🙂

(Source.)

Vitamin A

This fat-soluble vitamin is one of the biggest players during pregnancy! Fundamentally, it helps cells, tissues, and organs grow (source).

What makes a liver cell different from a brain cell? A process called differentiation — and Vitamin A plays a role (source and source)!

How about body symmetry? This is super important for a growing baby, and Vitamin A helps (source and source). 🙂

Vitamin A promotes kidney health (source and source), helps protect lungs from debris and infections (source and source), and helps maintain delicate mucus membranes (source). It also works with Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, and calcium to grow bones and teeth (source).

Finally, it boosts the immune system and helps babies see (source and source)!

So when should pregnant women be eating Vitamin A? Throughout their pregnancies, and especially during the last trimester when baby is growing most quickly (source).

Learn more about Vitamin A here!

Food Sources Of Vitamin A

When it comes to Vitamin A, animal foods like liver, raw and fermented dairy, pastured eggs, and fatty, wild-caught fish are your best bets. Plant foods like carrots, pumpkin, squash, and green leafy vegetables contain Vitamin A, too. However, it’s in the form of beta-carotene, which isn’t as readily absorbed by the body. (Source, source, and source.)

Here are some ideas for dishes so you can enjoy some Vitamin A every day!

• 7 Reasons Why You Should Start Eating Liver Today + How To Eat It Without Gagging
• Crustless Rainbow Quiche
• How To Make Cultured Butter (full of fat-soluble vitamins & probiotics!)
• Grain-Free Salmon Patties With Lemon Sour Cream
• Allergy-Friendly Carrot Cake {dairy-free, egg-free, & gluten-free!}
• 32 Delicious Pumpkin Recipes {from Breakfast to Dessert}
• Holiday Salad with Caramelized Delicata Squash and Fresh Sage Vinaigrette {Paleo & GAPS}
• Butternut Squash Soup recipe from our Pressure Cooking II eCourse
• The Best Way To Add Spinach (or any greens!) To Your Smoothies

Vitamin D3

You knew this one was coming, didn’t you? Vitamin D is that vitamin we all wish we had more of, right?

That’s because it promotes absorption of calcium and phosphorous (hello, strong baby bones!) (source and source), boosts the immune system while reducing inflammation (source and source), helps prevent insulin resistance (source), and helps regulate gene expression (source and source).

Pregnant women should eat Vitamin D3 throughout their pregnancy, and especially in the last trimester because of its effect on bones.

Learn more about Vitamin D3 here, including why it should always be eaten with Vitamin K2!

Food Sources Of Vitamin D3

There are 2 kinds of Vitamin D — ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3).

Vitamin D3 is found naturally in foods, whereas D2 is synthetic, found only in supplements and irradiated mushrooms. And if that isn’t enough to help you decide which form to eat, Vitamin D carrier proteins in the blood are more likely to bind to D3 than D2. Thus, Vitamin D3 is the way to go! (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, page 213.)

Cod liver oil and fatty fish are the best sources of Vitamin D3. Although, beef liver, raw dairy products, and egg yolks have small amounts, too. Our skin can also synthesize it from sunlight.

Try some of these yummy dishes to boost your Vitamin D — and don’t forget to take that cod liver oil. 🙂

• Smoked Salmon And Rice Salad
• Salmon Cakes with Homemade Lemon Mayonnaise
• 7 Reasons Why You Should Start Eating Liver Today + How To Eat It Without Gagging
• How To Make Cultured Butter (full of fat-soluble vitamins & probiotics!)
• Basic Eggnog
• Southern-Style Salmon Croquettes

Vitamin E

While Vitamin A is busy helping you grow a baby, you need something else to protect those new cells and tissues and organs, right? That’s where Vitamin E comes in! It’s an antioxidant that prevents free radicals from damaging certain fatty acids in cell membranes (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, page 221).

It also helps in the production of red blood cells (source), the formation of muscles (source), and immune function (source).

Furthermore, Vitamin E found in colostrum helps prevent oxygen toxicity in preterm infants (source).

For all of these reasons, it’s important to eat Vitamin E-rich foods throughout pregnancy, and even once baby is born so he gets Vitamin E through colostrum, too.

Learn more about Vitamin E here!

Food Sources Of Vitamin E

Nuts and seeds like almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, and sunflower seeds have Vitamin E. So do green veggies like spinach and broccoli, and high quality, expeller-pressed vegetable oils such as almond oil, palm oil, and olive oil. (Source.)

Freshly ground whole grain flours — soaked, sprouted, or fermented to neutralize the phytic acid that would otherwise interfere with mineral absorption — has Vitamin E, too. (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, pages 232-233.)

Here are some dishes for you to try!

• Sea Salt & Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds {Super Crunchy!}
• Grain-Free Almond Bread
• Paleo Chocolate Granola {with enzymes & antioxidants!}
• The Best Way To Add Spinach (or any greens!) To Your Smoothies
• Healthy Homemade Popcorn Just Like The Theater (with free video!)

Vitamin K2

Vitamin K2 is actually a group of compounds called menaquinones. Most notably, menaquinone-4 (MK-4) and menaquinone-7 (MK-7), denoted according to the number of double bonds in their molecular side chains.

Menaquinone-4

MK-4 has a host of benefits, including keeping calcium out of soft tissues by activating a Vitamin K-dependent protein, matrix Gla protein (MGP). This protein is present, needing to be activated, even during the 1st trimester of pregnancy. Vitamin K is important from the very beginning! (Source and source.)

For babies, MGP protects their nasal septal cartilage from prematurely calcifying in the womb. This results in a wide, well-proportioned jaw and nose like those that Dr. Price found in traditional cultures around the world. (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, page 142.)

For adults (including pregnant women), MGP protects the elasticity of arteries, veins, and maybe even skin. This results in less arterial plaque, less varicose veins, and less wrinkles. (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, pages 115, 117.)

MK-4 also contributes to brain development in 2 ways…

First, by helping produce the myelin sheaths that insulate and protect brain cells and nerves. Myelin is essential for neurological communication. (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, page 128.) Second, by blocking free radical accumulation which would damage brain cells (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, page 112).

Finally, MK-4 helps regulate genes, turning on genes that make cells healthy while turning off genes that make cells cancerous. It also turns on genes involved in sex hormone production. (Source.)

Menaquinone-7

MK-7, on the other hand, activates another Vitamin K-dependent protein called osteocalcin. Like MGP, osteocalcin is present, waiting to be activated, as early as the 1st trimester of pregnancy.

Once activated, this protein mineralizes hard tissues by binding to calcium and delivering it to bones and teeth (source and source). Osteocalcin also acts as a hormone to stimulate the pancreas to secrete insulin, as well as increasing insulin sensitivity (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, pages 14, 123).

For these reasons, Vitamin K2 should be eaten throughout pregnancy.

Learn more about Vitamin K2 here!

Food Sources Of Vitamin K2

Vitamin K2 is found in certain animal fats and fermented foods.

When ruminants and herbivores eat rapidly growing green grass (which contains Vitamin K1), they convert it to MK-4, which they then store in their fatty tissues. Because of this, we find MK-4 mostly in animal foods like goose liver, ghee, butter oil, egg yolks, and dark chicken meat. (Source and source.)

Fermented foods — if the right kind of bacteria are used — also contain Vitamin K2 in the form of (mostly) MK-7. Natto is the real chart-topper here, but certain cheeses contain K2, too. In fact, cheeses are rich in other menaquinones like MK-8 and MK-9, which presumably both act similarly to MK-7. (Source.)

One interesting thing to note — as long as natto bacteria is used, you can ferment any vegetable and give it a Vitamin K2 boost!

You can search for how much Vitamin K2 specific foods have in this database.

Here are some Vitamin K2-rich dishes so you can get started! And note that Vitamin K2 and D should always be eaten together. Why? Because Vitamin D promotes absorption of calcium, while Vitamin K2 ensures that calcium goes where needed in the body (source).

Raw dairy, including raw fermented dairy, is discouraged during pregnancy. For this reason, if you choose to eat it anyway, it’s important to trust your farmer and his milking practices.

• Chicken & Spring Vegetable Soup
• Pauper’s Chicken Stew
• How To Cook Pastured Chicken {so it’s flavorful & juicy!}
• How do I make easy to peel hard boiled eggs? #AskWardee 041
• 15 Easy Raw Cheese Recipes

Vitamin C

This water-soluble vitamin, a powerful antioxidant, helps protect new baby tissues from damage (source). It also enhances intestinal absorption of non-heme iron (source and source).

What is non-heme iron? The only kind of iron found in plant foods, and 60% of the iron found in meat, fish, and poultry. As opposed to heme iron, it’s less easily absorbed by the body, but Vitamin C helps! (Source.)

Vitamin C, of course, also boosts the immune system (source) — good for baby but also for mama whose immune system is suppressed due to pregnancy (Human Anatomy & Physiology, 8th edition, page 1075)!

Finally, Vitamin C helps metabolize protein, synthesize the collagen necessary for building connective tissue, and produce neurotransmitters (source).

For all of these reasons, Vitamin C should be eaten throughout pregnancy, although more so during the last trimester as baby can drain maternal tissue stores (source).

Food Sources Of Vitamin C

Vitamin C-rich foods include citrus fruits, tomatoes, red and green peppers, kiwi, strawberries, and cantaloupe (source). Keep in mind that heat destroys this vitamin, however.

Check out these ideas for fun ways to include more Vitamin C in your diet!

• Fermented Cranberry-Orange-Apple Relish
• No-Bake Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Tart {THM-friendly & sugar-free!}
• 2 Summer Spritzers {lemon-ginger & strawberry-vanilla!}
• Strawberry-Basil Switchel
• 9 Insanely Refreshing Popsicles {that you and your kids will love!}
• Frozen Melon Kebabs {an easy summer snack for kids!}
• Ginger-Lime Salsa With Kiwi, Jicama, & Tomatilloes
• Mediterranean Cucumber-Tomato-Mint Salad
• Stevia-Sweetened Watermelon-Mint Sorbet
• Frozen Berry Kebabs

Folate + The Rest Of The B Vitamins

Although all of the B vitamins play a role in pregnancy, I want to mainly focus on folate, also known as Vitamin B9.

Folate makes new DNA and thus helps make new cells, helps prevent neural tube defects (NTDs), is required for cell division, and increases birth weight (source, source, source, and source). It’s a busy B! 😉

What’s the difference between folate and folic acid? While both prevent NTDs, folic acid is the synthetic form found in some supplements. Unfortunately, its conversion to folate is limited and it does not cross the placenta as well (source).

As for the rest of the B vitamins, B1, B2, and B6 are important for their roles in energy, metabolism, and cell growth (source, source, and source). Vitamin B6 boosts the immune system and it, along with biotin (Vitamin B7) are involved in omega fatty acid metabolism (source and source). B6 and B12 are also known for helping produce red blood cells as well as improving cognitive development (source and source).

Learn more about folate and Vitamin B12 here.

Food Sources Of Folate

Folate can be found in liver, legumes, spinach, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts (source and source).

Here are some ideas to get you started!

• 7 Reasons Why You Should Start Eating Liver Today + How To Eat It Without Gagging
• 3 Dishes Made From Sprouted Lentils
• The Best Way To Add Spinach (or any greens!) To Your Smoothies
• Asparagus Leek Bisque: A Seasonal Soup for Spring
• Sprouted Hummus With Kale & Chives
• Green Hippie Juice

Choline

This water-soluble nutrient, like folate, also prevents neural tube defects. In fact, when converted to betaine, it can even substitute for folate in certain reactions. (Source and source.)

It’s also super important in its own right, though. All plant and animal cells need choline because it helps synthesize 2 phospholipids essential for cell membrane integrity (source and source).

Choline also helps form certain cholinergic neurons associated with mood, memory, and muscle control. These neurons start forming in babies from day 56 of pregnancy and continue forming until 3 months postpartum. Furthermore, the synapses between these neurons, also helped by choline, continue forming until 4 years of age! (Source, source, and source.)

For this reason, choline is important throughout pregnancy and early childhood. Pregnant women need to eat enough through food since it is transported at a high rate across the placenta (source).

Food Sources Of Choline

Meat including red meat, poultry, and fish, dairy products, eggs, cruciferous vegetables, some beans, nuts and seeds, and whole grains all contain choline (source). Breast milk does, too, so as long as mama is eating enough choline, breastfed babies can get some too (source)!

• Instant Pot Mediterranean Lamb Roast With Potatoes
• Chicken & Spring Vegetable Soup
• Roasted Corn, Tomato, Sweet Onion, and Salmon Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing
• How To Make A Kefir Parfait {an easy, healthy breakfast}
• How do I make easy to peel hard boiled eggs? #AskWardee 041
• Crust-less Rainbow Quiche
• How To Make Sauerkraut In A Stoneware Crock
• Enzyme-Rich Homemade Larabars
• 100% Whole Grain Sourdough Boston Brown Bread (in the Instant Pot!)
• Whole Grain Sourdough Waffles
• Trout, Bacon, & Corn Chowder

Calcium

This one is a no-brainer, right? In addition to mineralizing bones and teeth, calcium helps muscles move, nerves communicate, cells signal within themselves, and hormones secrete (source).

Pregnant women’s bodies go to pretty extreme measures to free up calcium for baby. Vitamin D levels rise to increase intestinal absorption of calcium, while increased parathyroid hormone starts pulling calcium out of bone, too. Calcium is even reabsorbed from urine! (Human Anatomy & Physiology, 8th edition, page 1090, source, and source.)

All of this calcium then transports across the placenta, starting in week 12 and peaking by week 36 (source), when thanks to Vitamin K2, baby is depositing calcium into his bones at a rate of 350 mg/day (source)!

By the time a full term baby is born, he has formed 98% of his skeleton. That’s about 30 grams of pure calcium. (Source and source.)

Pregnant women should eat Vitamin D3 throughout their pregnancy, and especially in the last trimester because of its effect on bones.

Food Sources Of Calcium

Dairy products contain calcium with the highest bioavailability. These include milk, kefir, yogurt, and rennet-curdled cheeses. By contrast, in acid-curdled cheeses, the protein structure containing calcium disintegrates as it denatures, releasing calcium into the whey rather than retaining it (On Food and Cooking, page 57).

Raw dairy, including raw fermented dairy, is discouraged during pregnancy. For this reason, if you choose to eat it anyway, it’s important to trust your farmer and his milking practices.

• How To Make A Kefir Parfait {an easy, healthy breakfast}
• Chocolate Kefir Smoothie
• Blossom Cheese Ball {Easy Homemade Soft Cheese}
• Middle Eastern Kefir Cheese Balls {with free video!}
• How to Make Raw Milk Mascarpone: Soft, Probiotic Cheese
• Cultured Lemon Cheesecake Mousse
• Quick and Easy Vanilla Custard
• Chai Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Chunky Monkey Milk

Iodine

Did you know that iodine is essential for thyroid hormone production (source)?

And babies start producing thyroid hormones by week 8 in the womb (Maternity & Women’s Health Care, 10th edition, page 282)! So for all that thyroid hormone does in the body, like promoting brain development (source), myelination (source), cell differentiation (source), and metabolism (source), iodine helps it happen.

Read more about the thyroid and what it does in the body here –> 7 Foods That Nourish Your Thyroid

Iodine also increases birth weight and decreases the possibility of miscarriage (source). It even seems to play a role in immune response (source).

Pregnant women should consume ample iodine to support their own thyroid gland, and baby’s thyroid gland, throughout pregnancy.

Food Sources Of Iodine

Think seaweed! If you live on the coast, you’re in luck. Kelp, nori, kombu, and wakame all contain iodine.

• Homemade Herb Seasoning Salt (Similar To Herbamare)
• Clean Eating Avocado Nori Rolls
• How To Make Real Food Sushi (be sure to know the quality and sourcing of fish if consuming raw during pregnancy — here’s more info)
• Seaweed Gomasio (TCS members, the February 2014 Thank You video demonstrates how to make homemade seaweed gomasio. If you’re a member and don’t have this video, contact us and we’ll give it to you!)

Iron

Babies need iron. Thankfully, with the addition of good food, the mother’s body is equipped to provide it! Intestinal absorption of iron increases (and Vitamin C helps), menstrual cycles stop, and maternal iron stores mobilize (source).

Why is iron so important? Hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying part of red blood cells, contains iron. Myoglobin, another protein that carries oxygen to muscles, also contains iron. (Source.)

Iron helps make some hormones, promotes neuronal and normal cell development, helps form connective tissue, and increases birth weight (source and source).

Learn more about iron here!

Food Sources Of Iron

To quote Lindsey Dietz from this post,

There are 2 forms of iron: heme and non-heme.

Heme iron makes up about 40% of the iron in meat, fish, and poultry. Heme iron is also the most well-absorbed form of iron.

Non-heme iron makes up the remaining 60% of iron in meat, fish, and poultry. Non-heme iron is also the only form of iron found in plant foods — grains, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. It is not easily absorbed by the body, thus the reason why vegans and vegetarians are prone to iron deficiency.

Even though beans, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and spinach are full of iron, they’re not full of heme iron. Therefore your body isn’t absorbing the iron in these foods very efficiently — even if you don’t have Celiac, aren’t pregnant, and don’t eat a vegan diet.

One serving of liver is roughly 3 to 4 ounces. Goose liver has the highest amount of heme iron per serving. Since goose livers aren’t readily available to most of us, pastured pork liver, chicken liver, and beef liver are absolutely wonderful sources of usable iron for our bodies.

So, to sum it up, heme iron is much more bioavailable than non-heme iron (source).

• Healthy French Pâté Recipe
• Dessicated Liver Capsules from our Dehydrating eCourse

Magnesium

Magnesium’s resume includes jobs in protein synthesis, blood glucose control, and blood pressure regulation (source). Pretty impressive!

It also promotes the conversion of cholecalciferol (inactive Vitamin D3) into calcitriol (active Vitamin D3) (Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox, page 234).

It plays a role in transporting calcium and phosphorous across cell membranes, therefore playing a role in heart rhythm, muscle contraction, and nerve impulse conduction. Magnesium also helps synthesize new DNA, RNA, and grow new tissue! (Source.)

We even find it in bones. 🙂

Thanks to magnesium’s effect on heart and brain development, pregnant women should eat magnesium-rich foods throughout pregnancy.

Food Sources Of Magnesium

Green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, and whole grains all contain magnesium (source). Make sure to properly prepare all of these, however!

Oxalic acid in leafy greens interferes with mineral absorption, just like phytic acid interferes with mineral absorption in legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. So steam your greens, soak your nuts, and either soak, sprout, or ferment your grains!

• The Best Way To Add Spinach (or any greens!) To Your Smoothies
• Spinach Kraut
• Dehydrate Your Way To Green Powder
• 3 Dishes Made From Sprouted Lentils
• Grain-Free Protein Bars {with soaked nuts!}
• Paleo Chocolate Granola {with enzymes & antioxidants!}
• 100% Whole Grain Sourdough Boston Brown Bread (in the Instant Pot!)
• No-Knead Artisan Sourdough Einkorn Bread

Phosphorous

The 2nd most abundant mineral in the body, phosphorous is mostly found in bones and teeth, but it also helps comprise the great energy currency of the body: adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Since the human body needs energy to make proteins or divide cells or do anything, really, ATP is the molecule that provides the energy.

In this respect, phosphate helps grow cells and repair tissues. It also plays a role in heart rhythm, muscle contraction, and nerve impulse conduction.

(Source.)

As baby’s energy needs increase during pregnancy, phosphorous keeps cellular functions running smoothly!

Food Sources Of Phosphorous

Meat and milk. It’s as simple as that! 🙂 If you’re eating enough protein and calcium, you’re getting enough phosphorous from your diet. (Source.)

• Instant Pot Mediterranean Lamb Roast With Potatoes
• Easy Jambalaya In The Crock Pot {dairy-free w/ grain-free option!}
• Grandma Mabel’s Sauerkraut & Spare Ribs
• 80 Amazing, Easy, & Healthy Pressure Cooker Recipes {Instant Pot, too!}
• Tarragon-Dijon Meatballs & Garlic-Tarragon Gravy {surprise ingredient!}
• Raw Milk Yogurt {Instant Pot} (can be made with pasteurized milk as raw milk is discouraged during pregnancy)
• Allergy-Friendly Chocolate Custard
• Homemade Real Food Mac-n-Cheese
• Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
• Asian Fusion Instant Pot Short Ribs

Zinc

This handy little mineral increases folate absorption and helps produce insulin (source and source). But that’s not all. It also promotes DNA synthesis, helps enzymes function, and boosts the immune system in addition to supporting normal growth, repair, and development (source).

Zinc also supports normal function of Vitamins A and D3, and vice versa (source).

Pregnant women need zinc throughout their pregnancy!

Food Sources Of Zinc

Since zinc isn’t stored in the body, daily intake is required via foods like oysters (make sure they’re completely cooked!), crab, lobster, red meat, poultry, beans, and nuts (source).

For non-meat sources of zinc, make sure to inactivate the phytic acid first (by soaking or sprouting your beans, and soaking your nuts) as it will interfere with mineral absorption.

• Homemade Corned Beef On Rye
• Pulled BBQ Chicken In The Instant Pot (THM:S, E, or FP options!)
• 10-Minute Parmesan-Basil Chicken With Roasted Broccoli ~ A 1-Pan Dinner {Paleo}
• African Chicken Groundnut Stew
• Vietnamese Fried Chicken Salad {Paleo}
• Rosemary-Honey Chicken With Smashed Cauliflower {Paleo, GAPS}
• 5 Yummy Ways To Use Sprouted Beans
• Soaked Einkorn Spiced Banana Nut Bread
• Lacto-Fermented Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Omega-3 & Omega-6

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid from the omega-3 family (source and source). Together with another long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid called arachidonic acid (a member of the omega-6 family), it makes up 30% of the phospholipid content of the human brain and retina (source).

This is because it’s such an important structural part of cell membranes. It’s essential to form new tissue and neurons, and is even precursor to a compound that protects neurons from oxidative stress caused by free radicals. (Source and source.)

DHA, through conversion into compounds called resolvins, also helps bring inflammation to an end when the time is right (source).

During the third trimester, DHA concentrations in baby’s brain spike to support the skyrocketing cognitive development taking place prior to birth (source).

Arachidonic acid (AA) is also important for growth, cognitive and neural development, and immune function. In fact, it metabolizes into prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) — a small signaling protein that helps regulate junctions between cells. PGE2 deficiency (as a result of too little AA) may play a role in the intestinal permeability associated with celiac disease. (Source and source.)

DHA and AA are most important during the third trimester, but of course throughout pregnancy too!

Learn about the proper ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids here.

Food Sources Of DHA & AA

Cod liver oil and fatty fish are the best sources of DHA, although grassfed animal fats contain minimal amounts too (source).

• Springtime Salmon, Peas, and Rice Salad
• Salmon Cakes with Homemade Lemon Mayonnaise
• Lemon-Ginger Salmon {Paleo, GAPS, AIP}
• Blackened Salmon Over Cajun Zoodles {in 1 skillet!}
• Trout, Bacon, & Corn Chowder

Organ meats (like liver), egg yolks, and land animal fats like lard and tallow are the best sources of AA (source).

• 7 Reasons Why You Should Start Eating Liver Today + How To Eat It Without Gagging
• Yes! Homemade Mayonnaise Is Easier Than Store-Bought!
• Home Rendered Grass-Fed Beef Tallow
• How To Render Lard In A Crock Pot

Finally, it’s incredibly important to balance intake of omega-3s and omega-6s. The best way is to eat preformed DHA and AA, instead of their smaller-chain precursors (alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, respectively), which may or may not be be effectively converted by the body into DHA and AA themselves.

This means plenty of organ meats and egg yolks in addition to your cod liver oil supplement.

Probiotics & Prebiotics

Before we wrap this (long) discussion up, one more thing… Probiotics and their food, prebiotics!

Not only because probiotics may make their way into breast milk once you birth, but also because they promote a healthy gut in you, the pregnant mama. A healthy gut means enhanced nutrient absorption, which means a happy, healthy baby.

Another perk of probiotics? They may help prevent group B streptococcus bacteria (GBS) from colonizing your digestive tract. I did not want to test GBS positive when I was pregnant (and then end up on an IV of antibiotics during labor), so I ate looooots of probiotics. And guess what, GBS negative!

Learn about probiotic supplements here!

Finally, prebiotics are important too, as they resist digestion to then provide nourishment for the probiotics in your gut. Many times prebiotics come in the form of resistant starches, which — once cooked and then cooled — “retrograde” to become resistant to digestion (source and On Food and Cooking, page 804).

Food Sources Of Probiotics & Prebiotics

Raw dairy, including raw fermented dairy, is discouraged during pregnancy. For this reason, if you choose to eat it anyway, it’s important to trust your farmer and his milking practices. Below, I’ve marked each fermented food containing dairy with an asterisk.

• How To Make Sauerkraut In A Stoneware Crock
• 5-Spice Apple Chutney {lacto-fermented!}*
• Tropical Probiotic Smoothie
• Russian Probiotic Potato Salad*
• Roasted Cinnamon Peach Probiotic Gelato (Honey-Sweetened)*
• Naturally Fermented Jalapeño Peppers
• How To Make Water Kefir
• Old-Fashioned, Crunchy, Fermented Garlic-Dill Pickles
• How to Make Coconut Kefir {3 Ways} #AskWardee 002

For more info on prebiotics, check out this list of 13 easy prebiotic foods, including lightly cooked onions, green plantains, and garlic.

• Green Plantain Crackers {& all about resistant starch}
• Gluten-Free Apple Spice Sourdough Donuts
• Paleo Cassava Flour Tortillas
• Probiotic Potato Salad
• Carob Brownie Bites – AIP, egg-free, resistant starch
• Tigernut Bran Muffins – AIP, Paleo, resistant starch
• Smashed Potatoes with Resistant Starch
• Crisp Lacto-Fermented Pickled Asparagus
• Tigernut Trail Mix 

The Bottom Line?

Eat the rainbow, and take a prenatal! Eat as many organic, whole, nutritious, real foods as possible. Exercise and get some sunshine too! Then trust God with the rest. 🙂

Finally, congratulations!!! You’re having a baby!

What foods did/do you focus on during pregnancy?

Looking for more pregnancy and baby related articles?

• 5 Fertility Superfoods For Women Trying To Conceive
• Haniya’s Natural Water Birth Story At Home
• How To Encapsulate Your Placenta (& How It Helps With Postpartum Histamine Intolerance)
• 39 Nourishing Postpartum Freezer Meals To Prepare While You’re Pregnant {slow cooker, too!}
• 3 Ways To Exercise While Breastfeeding {lose the baby weight & heal diastasis recti}
• 5 Things That Surprised Me About Baby-Led Weaning! {Is Your Baby A GNOWFGLINS Baby, Too?}
• 25 Natural Gifts For The New Mom On Mother’s Day