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Foods to Eat During The Third Trimester
Learn tips for healthy eating during your third trimester. Explore essential nutrients, meal ideas, and snacks to support you and your baby's well-being.
Why is it important to eat healthy during the third trimester?
It’s always important to eat healthily, but during pregnancy your diet not only needs to provide enough energy and nutrients for your own needs, but also for your growing baby. This is increasingly important as your baby grows.
On the flip side, eating can become more difficult in the third trimester as your baby takes up even more space, squishing your digestive system. Heartburn and indigestion are more commonly noticed around now, and you can feel full more quickly. You can help ease these symptoms by:
- Eating smaller meals, so you don’t feel too full afterwards
- Avoiding too many spicy foods
- Trying not to eat dinner too close to bedtime. (If you’re still hungry before you go to sleep, have a small snack)
- Continue to eat a healthy balanced diet
How many calories should you be eating in your third trimester?
Your standard daily calorie intake is around 2000 kcal, pre-pregnancy. This increases in the third trimester, but not by much. Your ‘eating for two’ allowance is actually only an extra 200 calories, bringing recommended daily calorie intake for the third trimester to 2200 kcal.
For reference, an extra 200 kcal is about the same as:
- 2 slices of wholegrain bread with vegetable oil spread
- 2 medium sized bananas
- 1 large egg with a slice of wholegrain bread to dip (Only British Lion stamped eggs are safe to eat with a runny yolk when pregnant)
- 2 x 125g pots of low fat yoghurt
What foods should you be incorporating into your diet in your third trimester?
In the third trimester, you should continue to eat a healthy, balanced diet. That means eating the full range of food groups and following the advice of the Government’s Eatwell guide . You’re also recommended to avoid the foods mentioned in our article here.
In addition, pay particular attention to the following nutrients throughout your third trimester:
Other considerations
You may hear advice around incorporating vitamins and nutrients such as Vitamin B6, B12, Choline, Folate, Folic Acid, Fat, Oils, and Iodine. However, there is no need to actively eat foods rich in these nutrients as a healthy balanced diet will provide enough of each of these through your third trimester and beyond.
Final considerations
All the advice around foods to eat and to avoid during pregnancy can be daunting. Try not to worry. The occasional treat is absolutely fine, so long as you’re generally eating a healthy balanced diet.
Remember the importance of hydrating well during pregnancy too. The recommendation is about 6-8 medium sized glasses a day. Watch for signs of dehydration including dark urine, dizziness, headaches, tiredness or a dry mouth.
Water is a good choice for hydration, but all non-alcoholic drinks will also count towards your fluid intake, including milk, fruit and vegetable juice, smoothies and hot drinks.
