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Eating well and staying active in pregnancy: gaining slowly, what to eat, what to avoid, moving safely, and after the baby

For anyone who is pregnant, or thinking about it, and the people who help them. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: why to gain weight slowly and how fast, why “eating for two” is a myth, how much to eat in each trimester, what to eat and drink each day, folate and a prenatal vitamin, what to avoid (alcohol, too much caffeine, fish high in mercury, foods that can make you sick), easing morning sickness, constipation and heartburn, how much to move and how to stay safe, and food, breastfeeding and being good to yourself after the baby. It builds the words to say at your next visit, and prints a card. Nothing is saved.

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This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor, nurse, midwife or dietitian has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 19, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Health Tips for Pregnant Women (last reviewed October 2019) and its Spanish page Recomendaciones de salud para las mujeres embarazadas, which say the same (the Spanish page calls orange roughy “pargo rojo”; we follow the English). The numbers (1 to 4 pounds in the first 3 months, then 2 to 4 pounds a month; no extra calories, about 340 and about 450 extra calories a day by trimester; folate 400, 600 and 500 mcg; up to 12 ounces of seafood and 6 ounces of white tuna a week; less than 200 mg of caffeine a day; at least 150 minutes a week of activity; week 12; 6 and 12 months) are NIDDK’s, and we add none. Ours: 911 if you believe you or the baby are in danger, and 988 (NIDDK names neither on this page); that not having enough food is not about your choices; never to skip meals to reach a number; to ask before taking any medicine; to call if you can’t keep food down; that whether you breastfeed is your choice; that NIDDK’s numbers are a goal, not a test; that there is no deadline after the baby; the questions to ask; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: NIDDK’s table of total weight gain by body mass index before pregnancy (the amount that is right for you is a question for your health care professional, and we link NIDDK’s page), its advice to cut down on calories, its references, and its links to other sites, which we name. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.