What is a healthy diet?
The 5 food groups
Daily eating examples
What is a healthy weight range?

There are many aspects to consider when preparing to conceive your baby. Once you decide to take steps towards having a healthy body, you will need to look at whether the food you eat contributes to having a well-balanced, nutritious diet. In a sense, the phrase "You are what you eat" is not far from the truth!

A good diet will not only support your general, overall health (and your ability to conceive naturally), but for the woman, it will also contribute to you having adequate stores of essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients to support your new pregnancy, and for your new baby to draw on for growth and development in the following weeks. This is particularly important in

he first 12 weeks of the pregnancy, when your baby's body organs are rapidly developing.

Most essential vitamins and minerals can be obtained through eating a variety of nutritious foods, but in some cases caregivers may recommend supplementing your diet with additional vitamins or minerals. One vitamin that is now well-known for preventing certain brain and spinal disorders in the developing baby is folic acid. In recent years, many women have started to take folic acid supplements (for up to 3 months before they conceive and/or in the first 12 weeks of the pregnancy), with the aim of decreasing the baby's chances of developing these disorders. This is discussed later in this class in folic acid supplements.

To enable you to plan a well-balanced, nutritious diet, you need to understand the basic recommendations by modern nutritionists. These principles essentially involve knowing about the 5 main food groups and the proportions of each food group (or how much of each type of food) you should aim to eat on a daily basis. If you have a special diet (perhaps 'gluten or diary free'), or you have a vegetarian or vegan diet, you may want to consult with a qualified dietician in the months before you try to conceive your baby, to make sure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs. If you want to know more about how to optimise a vegetarian or vegan diet, you can read vegetarian and vegan diets.

What is a healthy diet?