What Nutrients Do You Need During the First Trimester?

Folate (also called vitamin B9) is a super important nutrient, especially in early pregnancy. Your body can’t make it on its own, so it’s something you need to get through food or supplements.

There are two types:

• Folate – Folate is the natural form found in many healthy foods. Some great sources include leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale, and romaine lettuce. It’s also found in lentils, chickpeas, black beans, asparagus, oranges, avocados, and eggs.

• Folic acid – Folic acid is the man-made version found in most supplements and in foods that have been fortified. These include breakfast cereals, white bread, pasta, and rice. Check the food label to see if folic acid has been added.

During the first trimester of pregnancy, folate plays a key role in helping your baby’s brain and spine develop properly. It helps the neural tube close, which is the early structure that later becomes the brain and spinal cord. This is a big part of building a strong foundation for your baby’s growth.

The most important thing to know is that the neural tube forms and closes very early in pregnancy. This usually happens within the first four weeks, often before many people even know they are pregnant. That’s why it’s a good idea to start taking folic acid before you get pregnant if you are planning, and to keep taking it throughout the first trimester.

You should aim to take at least 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day from weeks 1 to 12. This helps give your baby’s brain and spine the best possible start. After week 12, the neural tube is fully formed, so continuing folic acid is not as essential for that specific purpose, although most prenatal vitamins will still include it to support your overall health.

In the early weeks of pregnancy, your baby’s bones and teeth begin to form. This is why getting enough calcium is important from the very start. Calcium helps build your baby’s skeleton and also supports their muscles, heartbeat, and nervous system.

Your body is amazing and will always put your baby first. If you are not getting enough calcium through food, your body will take it from your own bones to support your baby's development. While this is completely natural, it can affect your own bone strength over time if you do not replace the calcium you are losing.

To keep your bones strong and lower your risk of problems like osteoporosis in the future, it is important to get regular calcium through food or supplements. Calcium also helps your muscles and nerves work well. If you do not get enough, you might feel cramps, tiredness, or even have a greater risk of bone fractures, which is the last thing you want during pregnancy.

It might seem early to think about bone health while your baby is still so small, but this is when their foundation is being built. Getting enough calcium now helps your baby grow strong and also supports your own body as it goes through all the changes of pregnancy.

How much calcium do you need?

If you are between 19 and 30 years old, aim for 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day. And if you are between 31 and 50, aim for 1,300 milligrams each day.

Easy ways to get calcium

You can get calcium from a variety of everyday foods, making it easy to include in your diet. Dairy products like plain Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese are naturally rich in calcium, while fermented options like kefir also provide a good boost. If you prefer plant-based choices, look for calcium-fortified plant milks and tofu (make sure the tofu is calcium-set, as it varies by brand). Leafy greens such as cooked collard greens, as well as calcium-rich seeds and spreads like chia seeds and tahini, are also great additions to meals and snacks. Including a mix of these foods throughout the day can help you meet your calcium needs without much effort.

Protein is a major building block for the body and it’s made up of smaller parts called amino acids. These amino acids help keep our muscles, skin, and bones strong, as well as making hormones that are essential for growth.

When you’re pregnant, getting enough protein becomes even more important. Protein supports your baby's development, as those amino acids are necessary for healthy cell growth and function. If you don’t consume enough protein, it can lead to complications like inadequate growth for the baby or even early labor.

Your protein needs remain similar to pre-pregnancy levels, but ensuring you meet your daily requirements is especially important now as protein plays a crucial role in early fetal development. The general recommendation for adults is about 0.75 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily.

Here's how to calculate your needs:

1. Take your weight in kg (or convert lbs → kg)

2. Multiply by 0.75

3. That's your daily protein goal!

So, if you weigh 68 kg (150 lbs), that’s 68 × 0.75 = 51g protein/day. 

In the second and third trimesters, your protein needs will increase - we'll cover these changing requirements in more detail in later sections though! For now, focus on building good protein habits by consistently meeting your baseline needs.

When you’re about to have a baby, making sure you get enough iron is essential. A lot of women might already have low iron levels before they even get pregnant, often because of what they eat or their lifestyle choices, and many don’t even realise it. In fact, over 20% of pregnant women in Europe become anemic during pregnancy. This makes focusing on iron before conception and trimester 1 really important.

One of the key roles of iron is to help create haemoglobin, a protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body. When you’re pregnant, your blood volume increases by about 50% to ensure both you and your baby get enough oxygen, which means your body needs more iron than usual. 

Some women may start their pregnancy with lower iron levels, often without realising it. This is why it’s a good idea to focus on iron intake before and during pregnancy. Having sufficient iron helps not just you but also supports your baby’s development, particularly in forming healthy brain cells and red blood cells.

Pregnant women typically need about 27 mg of iron a day, compared to 18 mg for women who aren’t pregnant. So, it's essential to think about your iron intake based on your body's needs now that you're pregnant.

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, plays an indispensable role during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. This powerful antioxidant not only supports the health of the expecting mother but also significantly contributes to the optimal development of the growing fetus.

Boosting iron absorption

One of its main jobs is to help your body absorb iron better. Iron is vital because your body needs more of it when you're pregnant, it's used to make extra blood to support the growing baby. Many plant-based foods have non-heme iron, which isn’t absorbed as easily. Vitamin C helps convert this iron into a form that your body can use more effectively, which is essential to avoid anaemia (low iron levels) and to ensure both you and your baby get enough oxygen through red blood cells.

Building collagen

Vitamin C is also crucial for making collagen, which is a protein that helps form your baby’s skin, cartilage, tendons, and bones. If you don’t have enough vitamin C, collagen production can suffer, which could impact your baby’s development.

Strengthening immunity

Pregnancy can put a strain on your immune system, so keeping it strong is key. Vitamin C helps boost your immunity, which is super important when you’re pregnant because your body’s defenses are lowered to make room for the baby. A strong immune system can help protect you from colds and infections, making for a healthier pregnancy.

How much Vitamin C do you need?

For pregnant women, the recommended amount of vitamin C is about 85 mg per day, and the maximum limit is 2000 mg. It’s important to aim for 85 mg daily because your body doesn’t store vitamin C; so you need to get it consistently through your diet. But be careful not to go overboard, too much can pose risks such as preterm birth and increased oxidative stress.

DHA, also known as docosahexaenoic acid, is a type of omega-3 fat that plays a really important role in your baby’s growth during pregnancy. Right from the start, your baby’s brain is growing quickly, and DHA helps support that growth. It helps build brain cells and allows them to connect and communicate well, which supports learning and thinking skills later on.

DHA also helps with the development of your baby’s eyes. During the first trimester, the eyes begin to form, and DHA supports the healthy growth of the retina. The retina is the part of the eye that senses light and helps with vision. Getting enough DHA during this time can help your baby develop strong and healthy eyesight.

DHA is also helpful for your own well-being. Healthy DHA levels can help stabilise your mood and may reduce the risk of postpartum depression, supporting your mental well-being during pregnancy and beyond.

During pregnancy, your body needs more DHA because your baby depends on you for it. If you are not getting enough, your body will use up your own DHA stores, which can affect your health and leave you low in this important nutrient. To help protect both you and your baby, experts recommend getting around 200-300 mg of DHA each day.

Vitamin D is really important during the early stages of pregnancy. It does more than just help keep your bones strong. It also supports your baby’s healthy growth and development. One of its key roles is helping your body absorb calcium. Calcium is what builds your baby’s bones and teeth, so getting enough vitamin D makes a big difference.

If you do not get enough vitamin D, your body might struggle to absorb calcium properly. This can affect how your baby’s skeleton develops. Research has shown that low vitamin D levels in early pregnancy may lead to problems like preterm birth. Babies might also be shorter at birth if their mothers had low vitamin D levels. This is especially important to know, as around half of adults in the UK do not have enough vitamin D.

If you are in the early weeks of pregnancy, now is a great time to check that you are getting enough. You need about 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day. This is the same as 400 international units, or IU. Between September and March, it is even more important to take a daily supplement, because there is less sunlight during these months, which makes it harder for your body to produce enough vitamin D naturally.

Vitamin A is important for your baby’s development, especially for their eyes, skin, and immune system. But too much, particularly from supplements or animal sources like liver, can cause problems such as cleft palate, heart defects, or issues with the brain and eyes.

The good news is that vitamin A from fruits and vegetables, like sweet potatoes, carrots, and spinach, is safe. This type is called beta-carotene, and your body naturally converts it into vitamin A as needed.

To stay safe:

• Get most of your vitamin A from colourful fruits and veggies

• Read your prenatal supplement label to make sure it doesn’t contain too much retinol (avoid more than 770 micrograms per day)

• Avoid liver and liver products, which are very high in vitamin A

Pregnant women need about 700 micrograms of vitamin A per day. For a simple reference, half a cup of raw carrots has around 459 micrograms, and half a cup of broccoli has about 60.

Iodine is essential for your baby’s brain development. But just like with vitamin A, more isn’t always better. The recommended daily amount during pregnancy is 220 micrograms.

To help you picture that, a quarter teaspoon of iodised salt gives you about 75 micrograms. So if you're using iodised salt and eating a variety of foods, you're probably getting enough. Just be careful with foods like seaweed, which can have very high levels of iodine and might affect your thyroid if eaten too often.

Keeping it balanced is key.

Vitamin E helps support your immune system and your baby’s growth. But it’s best to avoid high-dose supplements during pregnancy. Too much vitamin E can sometimes lead to side effects like stomach pain or even increase the risk of your water breaking too early.

Instead, enjoy foods rich in vitamin E, such as almonds, sunflower seeds, and spinach. These provide what you need in a safe and natural way, without the risk of getting too much.