What to eat in the first trimester
When I talk to women about nutrition during pregnancy, they can often reel off exactly what they’re not allowed to eat or drink (Alcohol! Brie! Paté!). And it’s true that when you search ‘What to eat during pregnancy?’ you often get long lists of food to avoid. And you might also get articles telling you to ‘eat a healthy, balanced diet’.
But what about eating specifically to support growth and change at each trimester. Does that change?
Although a ‘balanced, healthy’ diet is a good place to start, knowing what to eat for you and your baby at each stage can be empowering, and help you understand the changes your baby is going through right now.
It starts before you’re pregnant…
The journey to your baby’s good health starts before you become pregnant. A healthy egg and a healthy sperm makes a healthy baby, and it takes 3 months to grow a healthy egg. As we often don’t know we’re pregnant until some weeks after an egg is actually fertilised, it’s sensible to be following a diet that supports a healthy first trimester right from the moment you decide to conceive.
When you’re pregnant, for the most part, baby is able to get most nutrients from you. But this can often come at the expense of your stores, so eating to replenish the nutrients taken by baby is really important.
The journey
In the first trimester, baby goes from a cluster of microscopic cells (known as a blastocyte) to the size of a nectarine by the end of the third month of pregnancy. As you can appreciate, it’s a time of huge growth. This is also when the major organs start forming, developing and functioning. The journey from fertilisation to implantation takes about three weeks as the cluster of dividing cells travels through the fallopian tubes to the womb. They then develop from a blastocyte to an embryo and finally to a foetus that is sustained and nourished by the placenta via the umbilical cord.
The first trimester is a period of great delicacy in terms of maintaining pregnancies as this is when most miscarriages happen. Miscarriages happen for various reasons, but one aspect to consider is the body deciding it’s not ready for pregnancy, or can’t support it well or because the cells forming the baby just aren’t healthy enough to survival the real world. This is where good nutrition can help ensure that your body is well-nourished to support the pregnancy, and the baby forms just the way he or she needs to from tiny cells to a healthy foetus.
It’s at this time, as well, that common pregnancy symptom kick in. Issues around food and digestion tend to be the most problematic, such as nausea, sickness, bloating, sensitivity to taste and smell, food aversions and cravings. You might also find yourself felling especially tired and exhausted, especially towards the third month of the trimester. It’s particularly difficult at this point because while trying to eat healthily, your body tells you it doesn’t want it. It’s very testing!
The key processes that occur in the first trimester and the nutrients that support it include:
Cell development, division and structure: B-vitamins, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin E, zinc, protein
Formation of genetic material: phosphorus, zinc, vitamin E
Development of the brain and nervous system: omega 3, B-vitamins, potassium, vitamin A, manganese
Formation and fusing of the neural tube: folate (often referred to as folic acid)
Eye development: omega 3, vitamin A
Muscle function: potassium, magnesium, manganese
Bone and teeth formation and structure: calcium, vitamin A, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin C
Immunity and gut health (particularly for mum): vitamin C, vitamin D, probiotics
What to actually eat
As you have hopefully come to appreciate, it is really important to make sure that what you’re eating has all you need covered. If your diet isn’t particularly varied, then you’re going to be missing out on some really key nutrients. Prenatal supplements can help ensure you’ve got most nutrients covered, there’s something magic about getting your nutrition from your food. Because different vitamins and minerals don’t just work in a vacuum. They work together in mysterious ways that science will probably never be able to replicate. In addition, it’s not just the individual nutrients that’s important, but the whole package - the fibre, the colour and variety, the fact that you have to chew food. These all affect how healthy any given food actually is for you.
These are my top 5 foods to include during the first trimester.
Oily fish - to support the brain, the nervous system and eye health. This is key throughout your pregnancy!
Variety of colourful vegetables - for fibre and contain a wide range of vitamins and minerals
Eggs - especially the yolk, which is packed full of nutrients, and is a great source of protein and B12
Beans, pulses and lentils - great for fibre and most B-vitamins.
Meat if possible - key source of iron, B12, protein and healthy fats
At this point of pregnancy, it can be difficult to eat a wide range of healthy food if you’re dealing with food aversions, sensitivities, or appetite loss. I find adding a smoothie a day (or a couple of times a day if eating is very difficult) can be helpful. You can pack in quite a lot of great nutrients into a smoothie, and as it’s blended up, it's easy to digest. Do aim to add in some sort of green vegetable for fibre and protein and/or fat to slow down the sugar absorption in the blood. If your smoothie has too much fruit in it, you might find yourself experiencing a spike in energy and then a sudden crash. As an example, this is a great smoothie for filling you up and helping with nausea:
1/2-1 banana
Grating of fresh ginger
Handful spinach
Spoon of nut butter
Coconut water
This smoothie contains everything you need to replenish lost minerals if you’re vomiting, fat and protein to keep you going without causing an energy crash, and ginger to help with nausea.
As you can see it’s really vital to be healthy right from before you even get pregnant. One you are pregnant, the first trimester is a period of enormous growth for your baby; in particular the brain and nervous system development and cell division are important processes that require key nutrients to perform correctly. If you’re trying to conceive, then this is the best time to start putting some of these tips into action, although it’s never too late to make small changes to your diet to support you and your baby’s changes.