There's no specific amount of junk food considered "OK" during pregnancy, but health guidelines recommend limiting these discretionary foods (high in sugar, salt, unhealthy fats) to occasional treats because they offer little nutrition for you and your developing baby, potentially leading to excessive weight gain and missing vital nutrients like iron, folate, and calcium. Aim for a diet rich in whole foods, with junk food only a rare indulgence, focusing instead on healthy snacks to satisfy hunger and cravings.
If you eat sweets or junk food, the extra calories do not provide the nutrients your baby needs. As a result, your growing baby will get the vitamins and minerals it needs from your own body. Your health could suffer.
Pregnant women should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, which is roughly equivalent to seven sugar cubes5.
Limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol. a. Limit intake of foods high in saturated fat such as many biscuits, cakes, pastries, pies, processed meats, commercial burgers, pizza, fried foods, potato chips, crisps and other savoury snacks.
When you're pregnant, you should avoid eating soft cheeses, unpasteurised milk products and raw meat, fish and eggs — these may contain germs that can harm your baby. Wash all fruits and vegetables and don't eat them if they've been pre-cut.
Healthy snacks in pregnancy
salad vegetables, such as carrot, celery or cucumber. low-fat, lower-sugar fruit yoghurt, plain yoghurt or fromage frais with fruit. ready-to-eat apricots, figs or prunes. vegetable and bean soups.
We love them even when we're in the womb. Some 15 to 16 weeks after conception, foetuses will show their sugar appreciation by swallowing more amniotic fluid when it's sweet, and less when bitter (pdf). Penchants for salt and umami tastes are also innate.
Some women may develop symptoms if their blood sugar levels gets too high (hyperglycaemia), such as:
Spotting the red flags
The findings suggest that pregnant women should avoid consuming French fries, bread, and coffee with high acrylamide levels for both their own health and their newborns' health.
Rosenbaum references a study done in 2021 that looked at how many average calories pregnant women burned per trimester. In the first trimester, the 24-hour energy expenditure or calories burned was about 144 calories daily. In the second, it jumped to 170, and by the third, it was around 290 calories per day.
In this study, pregnant women who self-reported eating quickly were found to be at a higher risk of excess weight gain during pregnancy.
Symptoms of hyperglycaemia
High blood sugar can cause problems all over the body. It can damage blood vessels and nerves. It can harm the eyes, kidneys, and heart. In early pregnancy, high blood sugar can lead to birth defects in a growing baby.
High blood sugar during pregnancy can cause problems for your baby while you are pregnant and after you give birth. The effects of high blood sugar for your baby may result in birth defects if you have uncontrolled blood sugars before getting pregnant and during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Your baby's first food experiences begin months before their first spoonful of baby food. In fact, by the second trimester, your developing baby is already “tasting” everything from your morning coffee to your favorite garlic bread through the amniotic fluid.
Do babies get hungry in the womb? Yes, they do. While they may not experience the same sensations we feel when our stomachs are empty, studies have shown that babies swallow amniotic fluid, which can provide important nutrients that help them grow and develop.
To maintain a healthy pregnancy, approximately 300 extra calories are needed each day. These calories should come from a balanced diet of protein, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Sweets and fats should be kept to a minimum.
Some of these bad fats are also hiding in many desserts and other dairy products. Unless you are sure that these foods do not contain saturated fats or are cooked in healthy oils, cut back on the following foods: Sausages and hot dogs. French fries.