Prenatal Nutrition

A woman's nutritional and overall health, before and during pregnancy, influences the health of her developing baby. Eating well, combined with taking a daily multivitamin with folic acid and iron, can give a woman the nutrients she needs to feel good, have energy, and support a healthy pregnancy.

Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide provides women with the information they need to eat well during pregnancy and includes specific Advice for Women of Childbearing Age.

Detailed Background on Canada's Food Guide recommendations for women during pregnancy and breastfeeding is available for the health professional.

Prenatal Nutrition Update

Health Canada is in the process of revising select prenatal guidelines to align them with the current nutrition standards, the Dietary Reference Intakes, and Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide.

Key messages for pregnant women from the latest revised guidelines include:

• Encourage all women to eat at least 150 g of fish each week. Fish contains omega-3 fats and other important nutrients for pregnancy.
• Women who could become pregnant and those who are pregnant should take a multivitamin containing 0.4 mg of folic acid every day. Questions and answers on higher doses of folic acid are available for the health professional.
• Pregnant women should also ensure that their multivitamin contains 16-20 mg of iron.

Frequently asked questions are also available.

An Expert Advisory Group is providing guidance to Health Canada throughout the revision. Health Canada also receives valuable input on its draft prenatal guidelines through open consultations.

Next Steps

Canadian gestational weight gain recommendations have been replaced with the newly released U.S. Institute of Medicine recommendations for gestational weight gain presented in the 2009 report titled  Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines.

Additional Resources

Prenatal Nutrition Guidelines for Health Professionals:

• Background on Canada's Food Guide
• Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
• Folate
• Iron
• Frequently asked questions

My Food Guide Servings Tracker for Pregnant Women

My Food Guide Servings Tracker for Breastfeeding Women

Listeriosis

Related Resources

•  Alcohol and Pregnancy
•  Breastfeeding
•  Caffeine
•  Constipation
•  Emotional Health
•  Family-Centered Maternity and Newborn Care - National Guidelines
•  Heartburn
•  Maternity Experiences Survey
•  Nausea and Vomiting
•  Oral Health
•  Perinatal Health Report
•  Physical Activity and Pregnancy
•  Sensible Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
•  Smoking and Pregnancy
•  Swelling (Edema)
•  Toxoplasmosis
•  Water and Other Fluids