Eating a healthy, balanced diet is of paramount importance during pregnancy to help you deal with the additional demands on your body and to provide your developing baby with essential nutrients. By eating a wide variety of healthy foods, you will be ensuring that you and your baby are receiving the correct balance of nutrients. Try to include a range of foods each day from each of the major food groups (see opposite) and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Include 2–3 portions each day of protein rich foods, such as fish, lean meat, chicken, legumes, cheese, and nuts to ensure the healthy growth of body structures.
Try to include 3 servings of dairy products each day. Ideally, these should be low-fat products, such as low-fat milk and low-fat cheese and yogurts.
Have 3 servings of whole grain carbohydrates, such as brown rice and whole-wheat breads and and pasta, to keep up energy levels and ensure a supply of fiber.
4–5 servings of vegetables each day will ensure a good supply of essential vitamins and minerals. Try to eat different colored produce and don’t overcook vegetables.
3–4 portions of fresh fruit daily will also provide a wide range of vitamins and minerals, many of which contain important protective antioxidants.
1–2 servings daily of iron-rich foods such as eggs or dark leafy green vegetables will help maintain healthy iron levels during pregnancy when demands are increased.
Menstrual cycles that vary more than a few days in length from month to month are considered irregular periods. An irregular cycle can be troublesome when trying to get pregnant, but being aware of your fertility signs can help you determine when you are approaching your short window of fertility. Irregular ovulation and menstruation account for around 30–40 percent of fertility problems. Although there are many factors that determine how fertile a woman is, such as her age, whether her cervical fluid is wet enough to sustain sperm, or whether her fallopian tubes are open, the most important factor is whether she ovulates—releases an egg—regularly each month. Sometimes, a condition called anovulation occurs in which there is a menstrual bleed but no ovulation. If you don’t release an egg each month, you won’t have as many chances to get pregnant, in which case you may be given medication to encourage ovulation. It would be wise to talk to your doctor about your cycle.