Your baby gains weight quickly during the third trimester, and parts of their body continue to form. Eyes open, nails form, and hair grows, to name just a few of the things that go on.
With all this stuff happening, the food choices you make are very important for the health of your baby.
Where to Get the Nutrients You Need
The building blocks of your meals and snacks should be:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Protein
- Whole grains
- Healthy fats and oils
- Low-fat or fat-free pasteurized dairy
Within those things are vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you need daily.
Vitamin A helps your baby’s bones grow. It also supports their skin and vision. Your baby’s eyes open and start to detect light in the third trimester.
You can find vitamin A in:
- Fish
- Dairy products
- Carrots
- Cantaloupe
- Spinach
- Sweet potatoes
- Fortified cereals
Vitamin C helps your body take in iron. It also helps make your baby's teeth, gums, and bones healthy. Your immune system needs it, too.
Good options for vitamin C include:
Vitamin B6 is an important nutrient for the development of red blood cells and your baby’s brain. It's in:
- Bananas
- Poultry
- Beef
- Fish
- Organ meats, like liver and tongue
- Starchy vegetables like potatoes
- Whole-grain cereals
Vitamin B12 keeps the nervous system strong and helps build red blood cells. You can get vitamin B12 through:
- Beef liver
- Fish
- Poultry
- Other meats
- Dairy products
- Eggs
- Fortified foods
Vegans and vegetarians need a B12 supplement, since plant foods don’t naturally have this vitamin. Talk with your doctor before you take any supplement.
Vitamin D helps you and your baby take in calcium. That helps strengthen the bones and teeth of both you and your baby. You can get it from:
- Fatty fish like salmon
- Fortified foods like breakfast cereal and milk, and sunlight
- Egg yolks
- Cheese
- Beef liver
Calcium forms bones and teeth, which is important during the third trimester, since your baby’s bones are getting harder. You can get calcium in:
- Dairy products
- Broccoli
- Kale
- Fortified foods
- Canned anchovies or sardines with the bones
Choline helps your baby’s brain and spinal cord form. A lot of prenatal vitamins don’t have it. But you can get it from:
- Milk
- Meat
- Fish
- Eggs
- Poultry
- Peanuts
- Potatoes
- Soy products
- Cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts and cauliflower
Iron helps red blood cells give your baby oxygen. Iron is in:
- Lean meat
- Poultry
- Seafood
- Nuts
- Spinach
- White beans
- Kidney beans
- Lentils
- Peas
- Prune juice
- Fortified breakfast cereals and breads
Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron from plants and supplements.
Iodine helps form your baby’s brain. You can get iodine in:
- Seafood
- Dairy
- Grain products
- Iodized salt
Folate and folic acid help protect your baby from brain and spinal cord issues called neural tube defects. Your body also needs them to help the placenta and your baby grow. You can get them in:
- Beef liver
- Peanuts
- Dark green leafy vegetables
- Oranges and orange juice
- Nuts
- Peas
- Beans
- Fortified breakfast cereals
- Enriched bread
- Pasta
- Flour
- Rice
- Cornmeal
Omega-3 fatty acids help your baby’s brain form. They're in a lot of fish. Make sure to choose low-mercury seafood like:
- Canned light tuna
- Salmon
- Trout
- Herring
- Cod
You can eat 8-12 ounces a week, but you shouldn’t have more than 6 ounces of white (albacore) tuna every 7 days. If you eat more than that, there's a chance that too much mercury can get into your bloodstream. This could affect how your baby's brain and nervous system develop.
Other good options for omega-3s include:
- Flaxseed
- Walnuts
- Chia seeds
- Cantaloupe
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Kidney beans
Protein helps your baby grow, and it helps you and your baby's bodies make blood. You can get it from:
- Lean meat
- Seafood
- Poultry
- Cottage cheese
- Egg whites
- Lentils
- Nuts
- Beans
- Seeds
- Peas
- Soy products
Fats and oils should be 30% or less of your calories. But they do have crucial benefits. You can get energy from them, and they help your baby’s organs and the placenta grow.
Good fats and oils include:
- Olives
- Nuts (and their oils)
- Avocados
Limit fats from things like meat and whole-milk dairy items.
Whole grains are a good source of carbs, energy, and fiber. All of those things can ease constipation for Mom. At least half of the grains you eat should be whole grains that come from things like:
- Brown rice
- Oats
- Whole-grain bread and cereal
- Quinoa
- Barley
- Bulgur
- Whole-wheat pasta
In general, the amount of food you need to eat is specific to you. Women in their third trimester often need an extra 450 calories a day. You should talk to your doctor about how many calories you need and how much weight you should gain.
Your doctor can also recommend a prenatal vitamin to make sure you’re getting enough of the nutrients you need.
