Prenatal nutrition

It is essential that a pregnant person get all the nutrients and energy necessary for the fetus to develop while maintaining her own health. Pregnant people must have a healthy diet because their bodies experience major changes throughout pregnancy.

Make sure that you include a variety of nutritious food in your meals and snacks and that you adopt healthy eating habits such as those recommended by Canada’s Food Guide. Go to the page Healthy eating to find out more.

You should drink water throughout the day too. Water is the best way to quench your thirst. Drink water instead of fruit juice, even100% pure, fruit drinks, soft drinks and other sugary drinks. Go to the page Water, the drink of choice to stay hydrated to find out more.

Resources for help and support

• The Olo approach offers pregnant people living in socioeconomic hardship access to nutritional follow-up care during pregnancy, including vouchers that can be exchanged for food items (eggs, milk, vegetables), and vitamin supplements, essential for an unborn baby’s proper development. This follow-up care, offered by Fondation Olo, is generally provided by a nurse or a nutritionist in CLSCs across Québec and in some community organizations. Care providers also help pregnant people and their family develop healthy eating habits. If you would like to join the Olo program, you must fill in the Ma grossesse form  or contact your CLSC. To find the contact information for your CLSC, go to the Finding a CLSC  section.
  
  ​​If you would like to find out more about nutrition and healthy eating during the perinatal period, the Fondation Olo  website also has a blog with articles, videos, recipes and tools to help you plan and save money while eating well.
• Info-Santé 811 is a telephone consultation service available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, everywhere in Québec.

You can get more information on nutrition and diet during pregnancy at the following websites:

• From Tiny Tot to Toddler: A Practical Guide for Parents from Pregnancy to Age Two 
  Institut national de santé publique du Québec
• Becoming a Parent
• The Sensible Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy 
  Government of Canada
• Prenatal Nutrition 
  Government of Canada
• Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator 
  Government of Canada
• Food Safety for Pregnant Women 
  Government of Canada