Eating well during your pregnancy is a very important factor determining the health of your baby.
A healthy pregnancy diet should never be over looked and might take more effort than you thought.
You have to do more than just eat more.
You also have to think about what you're eating.
When you are pregnant, the main source of nutrients comes from what you eat and drink on a daily basis.
This makes your nutrition decisions important.
The extra food you eat shouldn't just be any type of calories.
The extra food should provide the right nutrients for your growing baby.
When you are deciding on the right healthy pregnancy diet for you, consider these recommendations:

1. Eat many small meals throughout the day.
   Don't eat large heavy meals 3 times a day.
   This can cause constipation, heart burn, and morning sickness.
   Eating smaller meals throughout the day will help keep the digestive tract working throughout the day bringing you more energy.
   
2. Eat lots of calcium.
   Getting enough calcium during pregnancy is very important.
   Your baby needs calcium for development of bones, teeth, etc.
   If you are not receiving the extra calcium from food or supplements, your body will use calcium stored in your own bones.
   This can lead to osteoporosis.
   
3. Proteins are also very important during pregnancy.
   They are needed in the baby for cell growth and blood production just to name a few.
   You should have plenty of protein in lean meats, legumes, and dairy products.
   
4. Take in a lot of iron.
   Iron is needed for the production of red blood cells and is very important during the development of your baby.
   You can find iron in red meat, green leafy vegetables, and refined breads.
   
5. Increasing your intake of folic acid can prevent problems with your baby's developing brain and spine.
   Folic acid is very important for both of these areas and development occurs very early in pregnancy.
   If you are not pregnant yet, you should still increase your intake of folic acid especially if you plan on getting pregnant soon.
   
6. Get your Vitamin A, B's, C, and D.
   All of these vitamins are extremely important during pregnancy and shouldn't be over looked.
   

Now, along with the foods and nutrients you should be getting in your healthy pregnancy diet, here are some recommendations on what to avoid:

• Alcohol consumption should be avoided.
  
• Recent studies have shown caffeine may be related to higher risk of miscarriage.
  Due to this, avoid caffeine.
  
• Avoid anything raw that may carry a food born bacteria.
  This includes fish, soft unpasteurized cheeses, raw eggs, raw meat, and processed meats like hot dogs.
  
• Any fish high in mercury content.
  Shark, king-mackerel, tilefish, and sword fish are a few.
  

To create a healthy pregnancy diet, eat foods from different food groups throughout the day.
Follow the guidelines on the recommended proportions per nutrient.
Don't get too worried about the scale no matter if it's going up or down.
Focus on getting a good balance of nutritious foods in your body to keep your baby healthy.
Cravings are going to come during your pregnancy.
Fulfill them the best you can but remember that just having more calories might not be the best approach to a healthy pregnancy diet.