A healthy baby requires a healthy diet during pregnancy. Build a healthy diet around protein and calcium rich foods with a good balance of fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.

Each Day: Choose 4 servings of milk or milk products from this list. You need 1500 mg of Calcium a day. Each serving has 8 gm of protein plus 300 mg of calcium.

8 oz. glass 1% or skim milk
1 oz. piece of cheese
1 container of low fat yogurt, not sweetened with NutraSweet
1/2 cup cottage cheese

Choose at least 6 to 8 servings of protein foods from this list. You need at least 100 gms of protein a day. Each serving has 8 gm of protein.

1 oz. poultry (a cooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast is 3 oz.)
1 oz. beef, pork, or lamb
1 oz. fish, shell fish (limit to 12 oz. per week) or 2 restaurant-size portions of seafood. *See seafood note
1 egg
1 Tbs. of peanut butter
1 handful of peanuts
1/4 cup cooked legumes (kidney beans, lentils, etc.)

Choose 7-11 servings of carbohydrates. Focus on complex carbohydrates (whole grain). Labels should mention 100% whole grain as a first ingredient.

1/2 cup of cereal
1 slice bread
4 oz. baked potato
1/2 cup corn or peas
1/2 English muffin
1/2 small bagel
1/2 cup cooked pasta

Choose at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, including 2 servings of a Vitamin C rich food.

4 oz. orange juice
4 oz. grapefruit juice
1 cup tomato or V8 juice
1/2 grapefruit
1 small orange
1 kiwi
1/2 cantaloupe
1 tomato
1 green pepper
1 cup strawberries

Choose 2 servings of dark green leafy vegetables.

1/2 cup romaine lettuce
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 cup Brussels spouts

Choose 2 to 3 servings of these healthy fat servings

1 Tbs. margarine
1 Tbs. oil (preferably canola or olive oil)
1 Tbs. mayonnaise
1 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. peanut butter
1/4 avocado
1 Tbs. salad dressing

Eat 6-8 small meals a day or eat every few hours. Drink 6-8 glasses of water every day. Use salt to taste. Do not purposely limit salt. Your body requires salt. Avoid fast food, fried food, desserts, and junk food. Don't feed your baby things you shouldn't eat. Eliminate caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and artificial sweeteners (no NutraSweet or Sweet & Low). You may use Splenda.

* Seafood Note: The Food and Drug Administration is urging pregnant and nursing women to avoid eating shark, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel to limit their exposure to mercury. According to some environment groups, mercury can harm a child's development. These groups also want the FDA to warn women against eating tuna steak, sea bass, Gulf Coast oysters, marlin, halibut, pike, walleye, and largemouth bass. Also, pregnant women should eat canned tuna no more than once a month.