General Nutrition

Safe Food. Healthy Pregnancy. Confident Choices.
Your guide to nutrition and food safety from preconception to early labour

Pregnancy is a time when your nutritional needs change and your risk from some foodborne infections increases. Eating well does not mean following a perfect diet. It means choosing a variety of nutritious foods, understanding which foods are safer during pregnancy and knowing how to prepare and store food safely.

This website provides practical, evidence-based information for women and their families from preconception through pregnancy and early labour. The goal is to make healthy choices easier—not to make pregnancy more complicated.

Nutrition: Feeding for two doesn’t mean eating for two

Your body needs additional nutrients during pregnancy, but this does not mean you need to dramatically increase the amount of food you eat. A healthy pregnancy diet is based on variety, balance and nutrient density.

Aim to include foods from the five Australian food groups:

  • Vegetables and legumes
  • Fruit
  • Wholegrain and high-fibre cereals
  • Lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and legumes
  • Milk, yoghurt, cheese and suitable alternatives

Water should be the main source of hydration.

Australian evidence suggests that dietary intake during preconception and pregnancy does not always meet recommendations. In the Australian BABY1000 pilot study, inadequate intakes of several important micronutrients were common, highlighting the importance of accessible, reliable pregnancy nutrition information (Maneschi et al., 2023).

Try this today

Instead of asking “Am I eating perfectly?”, ask: “Have I included something nutritious from several food groups today?”

Small, realistic changes can build a healthier eating pattern.