Eating and nutrition

• It’s important to eat healthy foods during pregnancy.
• Most pregnant women need around 300 extra calories per day.
• Take a prenatal vitamin every day.

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When you prepare food for yourself and your family, use these tips to help ensure that it's safe to eat.

How should you clean food?

• Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables. Use a scrub brush. If you can’t get the skin clean, peel it off. This can help remove dirt and chemicals, like pesticides. A pesticide is a chemical used to keep bugs and other pests away from crops. Wash all fruits and vegetables, even if the package says it’s already been washed. Dry everything with a paper towel or clean cloth. 
• Remove and throw away the outer leaves of leafy green vegetables, like lettuce and spinach. 
• Cut away damaged sections of fruits and vegetables. 
• Wash utensils and cutting boards with hot soapy water after each use. Don’t use cutting boards made of wood. They can hold more germs than other kinds of cutting boards. 
• After preparing food, clean countertops with hot soapy water.

How should you separate food?

• Use one cutting board for raw meat, poultry and seafood. Use a different board for fruits and vegetables. 
• When you’re shopping, keep raw meat, poultry and seafood and their juices separate from other foods.
• Store raw meat, poultry and seafood in containers so that their juices don’t get on other foods.

How should you cook food?

• Use a food thermometer. It can help you cook food—especially meat—to a safe temperature. You may not be able to tell if a food is fully cooked by how it looks, so use these temperature guidelines: 
  
   
  
  You can buy a thermometer at the grocery store or at home-supply stores where cooking products are sold.

• When using the microwave, cover the food. Stop cooking to stir the food and rotate the dish to ensure the food’s warm all the way through.
• When reheating sauces, soups and gravies, bring them to a rolling boil.

How should you chill food?

• Keep the refrigerator at 40 F or below and the freezer at 0 F or below. If you don’t think your temperature is correct, use an appliance thermometer to check it. You can buy this kind of thermometer at hardware or home-supply stores.
• Refrigerate all fruits and vegetables that have been cut or peeled.
• Refrigerate all leftovers within 2 hours after eating. Use shallow containers so that the food cools quickly. When you’re ready to use the leftovers, eat them within 2 hours of taking them out of the refrigerator. 
• Thaw meat, poultry and seafood in the refrigerator, not on the counter or in the sink.
• Don't crowd the refrigerator. This may make it hard to keep food cool and safe.

Last reviewed August 2012

See also: Foods to avoid or limit during pregnancy, Eating health during pregnancy