- Eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables helps provide the nutrients needed to support your baby’s development
- Fruit and vegetables are packed with important vitamins, minerals fibre and antioxidants
- Aim for 2 servings of fruit and 4 to 5 servings of vegetables per day
Fruit and vegetables in your pregnancy diet
Key points
Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables
As well as adding variety and colour to your diet, fruit and vegetables are packed with powerful vitamins, nutrients, fibre and antioxidants — all important for a healthy pregnancy. They provide key nutrients, such as vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid, which all contribute to your baby’s growth and development. As well as being packed with nutrients they are low in kilojoules which makes them a great choice when trying to keep to the recommended weight gain for mothers during pregnancy.
How many serves of fruit should I have each day?
Aim to eat 2 servings of fruit per day. This can be from a range of colours. You can buy fruit fresh, frozen, dried or tinned. A 125mL glass of fruit juice can also count as one of your servings, look for a fruit juice that contains no added sugar.
What counts as a fruit serving?
- 1 medium apple or orange
- 1 cup of canned fruit
- 2 small kiwifruit or apricot
- ½ cup of fruit juice with no added sugar
- ½ cup stewed fruit
How many serves of vegetables should I have each day?
It is important to include plenty of vegetables in your diet. Try dark green leafy vegetables as they are good sources of iron and folate, all important for the development of your baby during pregnancy.Aim for at least 4–5 servings per day of vegetables from a variety of colours. Examples of different colours can include:
- Yellow: capsicum, zucchini, kumara/sweet potato
- Orange: capsicum, carrots, pumpkin
- Dark green: spinach, kale, lettuce, courgette
- Red: capsicum, beetroot
What counts as a vegetable serving?
Serving size examples include:
- 1 cup of lettuce
- ½ cup tinned beetroot
- ½ medium kumara/sweet potato
- ½ cup sweet corn
- ½ cup cooked taro or watercress
- ½ cup cooked bok choy
The protective properties of fruit and vegetables
Eating a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables will provide many of the nutrients needed to support your baby’s development. It also lowers your risk of serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity.The following are some easy ways to increase your intake:
- Buy frozen fruit and vegetables; aside from the convenience, they can be cheaper than fresh varieties and the nutrient content is well preserved
- Snack on vegetables, such as carrots or celery sticks
- Add extra vegetables to home-cooked meals
- Try tinned fruit and vegetables, ensuring there is no added salt or sugar
- Vegetable soups
Related pages
Get in touch with our Careline experts
When your little one is unhappy or unwell you want reliable support from a trusted source. Our Careline team of nutritionists, dietitians and midwives specialise in infant and child health, offering free nutrition, feeding and product information.
Every feeding journey is unique
Not every parent can produce breast milk. No matter what choice you make, we will support your unique feeding journey.
We at Nutricia believe in providing the best nutrition for babies, which is why we recognise breast milk is uniquely superior for babies as it provides many benefits. It is important that mums have a healthy diet to support breastfeeding. A decision not to breastfeed, or partial bottle feed, may reduce breast milk supply making it difficult to reverse. The cost and social implications of using feeding methods should be considered. Always seek professional advice about feeding your baby. Ensure formula is used as directed as improper use can affect baby’s health.
REMEMBER: The information on this page is general only. If you have any concerns about your baby’s poo or questions about constipation or any other health concerns, please speak to a healthcare professional, like a Pharmacist, GP or Maternal Child Health Nurse.