What we put in our bodies to nourish it is always important. But supporting the body for pregnancy and during pregnancy is important for you and the developing fetus. That’s why prenatal multivitamins are a must for those that are trying to conceive and who are already pregnant.* It’s also why certain foods and even household and beauty products aren’t recommended during pregnancy.

Here are the nutrients, vitamins, and ingredients experts recommend while pregnant—as well as their suggestions for what to avoid during pregnancy.

But First: Nutrition While Trying to Get Pregnant

As much as we might try to plan, knowing exactly when a pregnancy will happen isn’t possible. Thinking about what you’re putting into your body before getting pregnant helps you have the supporting nutrients on board by the time conception does happen.

There’s no conclusive research suggesting that certain foods or nutrients are “better” or “worse” in the preconception phase. But eating balanced, colorful meals is always a good idea. (1)

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), people who are trying to get pregnant can prioritize consuming:
• Folate (e.g., dark and leafy greens, beans, folic acid-fortified grains and cereals)
• Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (e.g., salmon, tuna, mackerel)
• Soy isoflavones (e.g., tofu, soybeans, edamame)
• Full-fat dairy
• Whole grains
• Vegetables
• Fish

ASRM also says that people who are trying to get pregnant may want to try to avoid:
• Trans fatty acids (e.g., store-bought baked goods, fried foods)
• High glycemic load (e.g., raisins, brown rice, couscous)
• Processed meats
• Carbohydrates

The reality is that paying such close attention to what nutrients you’re consuming can be stressful. This is where starting a prenatal multivitamin early comes into play: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), aka the leading national organization of OB/GYNs, recommends taking a prenatal multivitamin with folate starting at least one month before getting pregnant.* (2)

Ingredients to Look For During Pregnancy

Before we go on: With all of these recommendations, cut yourself some slack. No one’s perfect, and no one’s going to be able to follow all of these suggestions to a T. All we can do is try our best.

Let’s start with the vitamins and minerals ACOG highlights as essential during pregnancy that you can also find in our Essential Prenatal Multivitamin*:

• Iron (27mg) contributes to red-blood cell formation and energy-yield metabolism. Pregnant women also have the highest demand for iron.*

• Iodine (220 micrograms) helps support skeletal and central nervous system development.* During early pregnancy, the fetus depends on maternal iodine intake.*

• Choline (450mg) is a building block for cell membranes and a key nutrient that supports the development of baby’s neural tube.*

• Vitamin D (600 international units) to help maintain bone health and to support infant dental health.*

• Vitamin B12 (2.6mcg) to support normal DNA synthesis.*

• Folate (600mcg), contributes to maternal tissue during pregnancy and supports the fetus’ brain and neural tube development.*

Getting every single recommended vitamin and mineral isn’t always easy—especially for vegetarians or people who live in areas where certain foods are in low supply. Prenatal multivitamins like Ritual’s Essential Prenatal Multivitamin can help build up levels of important nutrients before, during, and after pregnancy—including folate and iron.*

Ingredients to Avoid During Pregnancy

Experts spanning pregnancy, nutrition, and environmental health have set important standards for what food to avoid during pregnancy to support you and your growing baby.

Foods

Reading food labels is really important during pregnancy. Some ingredients and foods can lead to consumption of high levels of mercury, for example. The following recommendations can help you steer clear. (3)

Limit consuming:
• More than 6oz of white albacore tuna a week.
• More than 200mg of caffeine in a day.

Avoid consuming:
• Hot dogs and deli meats.
• Raw fish.
• Fish with high levels of mercury, like bigeye tuna, king mackerel, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, or tilefish (cooked or shelf-stable are okay).
• Raw or undercooked eggs or foods made with raw or undercooked eggs (e.g., soft-scrambled eggs, cake batter, raw cookie dough, non-shelf-stable Caesar salad dressings, eggnog, hollandaise).
• Unpasteurized juice, milk, soft cheese, or foods made with unpasteurized juice, milk, or soft cheese.
• Raw sprouts.
• Unwashed fruits and vegetables.
• Store-bought salads (e.g., chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad).
• Most herbal pills and teas.
• Alcohol.

Cooking and Storing Food

Even the items we use to cook or store our food are important to keep an eye on. The items many of us touch on a near-daily basis can contain toxins for pregnant people and growing babies.

Although these toxins are pretty impossible to avoid, here are some ways to reduce your exposure (7):
• Avoid using plastic water bottles or food storage containers (bisphenols like BPA).
• Avoid using nonstick cookware, frozen and delivery food packaging, and unfiltered water (PFAS aka “forever chemicals”).
• Avoid using spot removers, degreasing products, and dry cleaning (PERC and TCE).
• Don’t put unwashed hands in your mouth (lead and flame retardants).

Cleaning, Beauty, and Skincare Products

Label reading while trying to conceive and during pregnancy is about a lot more than just food—it’s also about what we’re touching and putting on our bodies. These are the main cleaning, beauty, and skincare ingredients to avoid during pregnancy (8):
• Anything labeled “unscented”
• Phthalates
• Parabens
• Oxybenzone
• Triclosan

Lucky for all of us, the Environmental Working Group has pulled together two great resources for finding skincare, beauty, and cleaning products so we can make smart decisions on what we bring into our homes. (9, 10)

Ritual’s Made Traceable® Prenatal

The beauty of Ritual’s Essential Prenatal Multivitamin is that, with every capsule, you know what you’re putting into your body. Whether you’re thinking about trying, you’re in the midst of trying, or you’re already pregnant, a prenatal multivitamin will help bridge the nutrient gap between what you’re eating and the levels recommended before and during pregnancy.*

Our OB/GYN-approved formula† includes 12 clinically-studied key nutrients, including omega-3s sourced from microalgae, nature-identical choline, vegan-certified vitamin D3, gentle chelated iron, and methylated folate—an active form of folic acid. Because sometimes less really is more.*

†Based on the Ritual formulation reviewed by 150 OB/GYNs.

References:

1. Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in collaboration with the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. (2017). Optimizing Natural Fertility: A Committee Opinion. Fertility and Sterility. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.asrm.org/globalassets/asrm/asrm-content/news-and-publications/practice-guidelines/for-non-members/optimizing_natural_fertility.pdf
2. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2021). FAQs: Nutrition During Pregnancy. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/nutrition-during-pregnancy
3. March of Dimes. (n.d.). Foods to Avoid or Limit During Pregnancy. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/pregnancy/foods-to-avoid-or-limit-during-pregnancy
4. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2022). Drug Safety and Availability: FDA recommends avoiding use of NSAIDs in pregnancy at 20 weeks or later because they can result in low amniotic fluid. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-recommends-avoiding-use-nsaids-pregnancy-20-weeks-or-later-because-they-can-result-low-amniotic
5. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee on Obstetric Practice. (2018). ACOG Committee Opinion No. 743: Low-Dose Aspirin Use During Pregnancy. Obstetrics and Gynecology. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2018/07/low-dose-aspirin-use-during-pregnancy
6. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2021). Ask ACOG: What medicine can I take for allergies while I'm pregnant? American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.acog.org/womens-health/experts-and-stories/ask-acog/what-medicine-can-i-take-for-allergies-while-im-pregnant
7. The Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the University of California – San Francisco, & the Health and Environment Alliance. (2020). FIGO, UCSF and HEAL share 10 tips to avoid toxic chemicals during and after pregnancy. Health and Environmental Alliance. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.env-health.org/figo-ucsf-and-heal-share-10-tips-to-avoid-toxic-chemicals-during-and-after-pregnancy/
8. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee on Obstetric Practice. (2021). Reducing Prenatal Exposure to Toxic Environmental Agents: ACOG Committee Opinion, Number 832. Obstetrics and Gynecology. https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2021/07/reducing-prenatal-exposure-to-toxic-environmental-agents
9. Environmental Working Group. (n.d.). EWG’s Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database. Environmental Working Group. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/
10. Environmental Working Group. (n.d.). EWG’s Guide to Health Cleaning. Environmental Working Group. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/#.W3S7SuhKjIU