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Having a healthy pregnancy

Key facts

  • During pregnancy, it is important to avoid potentially harmful foods, such as raw or undercooked meat and eggs, soft cheeses and alcohol.
  • Physical activity during pregnancy can be safe and benefit both you and your baby.
  • Smoking and vaping during pregnancy increases the risk of complications such as miscarriage, stillbirth, placenta problems and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
  • It's recommended to get vaccines for the flu, whooping cough and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) to protect your baby from illness.
  • Take care of your mental health and wellbeing when you are pregnant by asking for help and support if you feel overwhelmed, anxious or stressed.

    • Planning for pregnancy

    If you are planning to become pregnant, visit your doctor for a preconception consultation. They will give expert advice on planning your pregnancy. Your health and wellbeing before conception can affect your baby's health and development.

    Your doctor will also check that your prescription medicines are safe during pregnancy. Sometimes you may need to change your medicines before trying to get pregnant. Be sure you let your doctor know about all prescription, over-the-counter and alternative medicines you take.

    A healthy lifestyle is especially important at this time for you and your baby.

    Healthy eating

    Eating well can benefit your health and your baby's development.

    You do not need to 'eat for 2' while you are pregnant. This is a myth.

    During your second and third trimesters, you may need to eat some extra nutrients.

    Healthy eating recommendations during pregnancy include:

    • a wide variety of fruits and vegetables of different types and colours every day
    • proteins — red meats, fish, poultry, eggs, tofu, beans, nuts
    • wholegrains
    • dairy foods — reduced fat milk, yoghurt and cheese
    • plenty of water

    It's OK to have caffeine while you are pregnant. Limit it to around 2 cups of coffee or 4 cups of tea a day. It's best to eat fewer foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat.

    Pregnancy can affect your immune system (Opens in new tab). It may be harder for your body to fight infections. Be sure to follow good hygiene (Opens in new tab) practices when you are preparing and storing food, so as to avoid food poisoning.

    Foods to avoid

    It's important to avoid:

    Limit your eating of large fish like shark, marlin and swordfish. They contain mercury that can affect your baby's brain and nervous system (Opens in new tab).

    Read more on foods to avoid when pregnant.

    Supplements

    To support your baby's development, you are recommended to take folic acid and iodine supplements. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist (Opens in new tab) about the type and dose of supplements. Be sure to tell them you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy.

    Read more on vitamins and supplements during pregnancy.

    Healthy weight gain

    How much weight you should gain during your pregnancy depends on your pre-pregnancy weight and BMI (body mass index) (Opens in new tab). Your doctor or midwife can advise you on how much weight gain they recommend for you.

    If you start your pregnancy within the healthy weight range, putting on too much weight when you are pregnant can cause short-term and long-term health risks for you and your baby such as:

    Living with underweight when you are pregnant can also increase your risk of:

    If you are living with overweight or obesity (Opens in new tab), you will need extra care during pregnancy and at the birth.

    Strict dieting to lose weight is not recommended while you are pregnant. It might mean the baby does not get all the nutrients they need.

    If your doctor thinks you are gaining weight above or below the recommended level, a dietitian (Opens in new tab) can advise you what to eat.

    FIND A HEALTH SERVICE — The Service Finder can help you find doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and other health services.

    Alcohol

    Whenever you drink alcohol, it passes through your placenta and enters your baby's bloodstream. To protect your baby, you should not drink alcohol if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant.

    Drinking alcohol increases your risk of:

    The more you drink, the greater the potential harm to your baby. Binge drinking (Opens in new tab) (drinking a lot of alcohol on one occasion) is especially dangerous for your baby.

    For help managing alcohol during pregnancy, visit NOFASD Australia (Opens in new tab).

    Smoking and vaping

    Smoking, vaping and passive smoking during pregnancy are very harmful to you and your baby. Smoking can also affect your fertility (Opens in new tab) and your ability to get pregnant.

    Cigarette smoke and vape from e-cigarettes have toxic chemicals in them such as nicotine. There is no safe amount of smoking or vaping.

    These increase the risk of problems for you and your baby, such as:

    Quitting smoking

    The best way you can protect yourself and your baby is to quit smoking and vaping. You and your baby will benefit straight away.

    Many people quit when they find out they're pregnant but then relapse (Opens in new tab). Don't be too hard on yourself — just keep trying. Many people need several attempts at quitting. Your chance of success improves if you have support from your doctor and your family. If your partner can quit too, you are more likely to succeed.

    If your doctor asks you if you smoke or vape, it is important to tell them the truth. They can help you get support to quit, for example with medicines (Opens in new tab) or counselling (Opens in new tab).

    It's never too late to quit, so contact the Quitline (Opens in new tab) for more information.

    Read more on smoking and vaping during pregnancy (Opens in new tab).

    Physical activity

    If you are pregnant, it is safe and healthy to do some physical activity every day. You should build up to do between 150 and 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. It is OK for you to do your physical activity in small sessions throughout the day.

    If you were active before falling pregnant and don't have any pregnancy complications, you can continue exercising as usual.

    If were not active before you became pregnant, start slowly and gradually build up your activity.

    Try to do a combination of both aerobic and strength training activities, such as:

    • pelvic floor exercises (to help reduce your risk of bladder incontinence after you give birth)
    • brisk walking
    • swimming
    • dancing
    • stationary cycling
    • Pilates and yoga

    You can also join a group or club to help you stay motivated.

    Activities to avoid

    During pregnancy, there are some activities you should avoid, including:

    • activities that limit your oxygen, such as scuba diving
    • high impact or contact sports that can injure your stomach, such as boxing or football
    • excessive stretching, as looser ligaments are more likely to become injured

    Remember to avoid exercising outdoors in the heat of the day, so you don't become dehydrated (Opens in new tab). Make sure you drink lots of water (Opens in new tab).

    It's important to listen to your body. If an activity is causing you discomfort, stop or change the way you are doing it. If you join an exercise class or team, let your instructor or coach know you are pregnant.

    You can talk to your doctor about the best type of physical activity for you.

    Read more on exercising during pregnancy.

    Immunisation and vaccination

    Immunisation before pregnancy

    If you are planning a pregnancy, make sure you are up to date with your vaccines. Your doctor can refer you to do some blood tests (Opens in new tab) to check your immunity to some infections.

    It is especially important to check if you are protected against:

    Immunisation during pregnancy

    Influenza: While you are pregnant, you are more at risk of catching the flu. You also have a higher chance of complications and ending up in hospital. The flu can also be dangerous for your baby. Babies under 6 months old are too young to get the flu shot. The best way to protect yourself and your baby is to have the flu vaccine. You can have this at any stage of your pregnancy.

    Whooping cough: Whooping cough (pertussis) can be deadly for newborn babies. It's important to have the whooping cough vaccine between 20 and 32 weeks in each pregnancy. When you are vaccinated, your antibodies are transferred from you to your baby. This will protect your baby until they can get their first whooping cough immunisation.

    RSV (respiratory syncytial virus): RSV can cause severe lung infections in very young babies. Vaccination is recommended between 28 and 36 weeks of pregnancy.

    During pregnancy, the influenza, whooping cough and RSV vaccines are free under the National Immunisation Program (Opens in new tab). Speak to your doctor about what vaccines are recommended during pregnancy. Your partner can also ask their doctor for recommendations on vaccination.

    Avoiding infections

    You can decrease the chance of catching many common infections by washing your hands (or using alcohol hand gel) regularly and after touching others or bodily fluids.

    Some infections, such as cytomegalovirus (CMV), can be harmful to your baby, so try to reduce your chance of contact with body fluids that may be contaminated.

    If you are pregnant, it is a good idea to:

    • regularly and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water, particularly when feeding and caring for children, changing nappies, wiping noses or handling anything contaminated with body fluids
    • regularly clean surfaces and objects that may have body fluids on them
    • avoid kissing children on the lips or putting dummies in your mouth
    • avoid sharing food, cups, utensils, or toothbrushes

    If you have any concerns, you can discuss them with your doctor or midwife.

    Exposure to chemicals

    If you are pregnant, there are some substances that can harm your baby. Try to protect yourself and your baby and stay away from them. These include:

    Your baby can be affected if you breathe, swallow or sometimes even touch harmful chemicals.

    It's important to speak to your employer if your work brings you into contact with chemicals or materials that could harm you or your baby. You are entitled by law (Opens in new tab) to move to a safe job, even if you are a casual worker.

    Looking after yourself

    For advice and to get connected to local mental health services call Medical Mental Health (Opens in new tab) on 1800 595 212. Check the operating times (Opens in new tab).

    Looking after your mental health during pregnancy is just as important as looking after your physical health.

    It is quite common for you to feel more anxious than usual while you're pregnant. If you're worried, seek help or support.

    Here are some tips to help support your mental health during pregnancy:

    Resources and support

    Do you prefer to read in languages other than English?

    The Centre for Perinatal Excellence (COPE) (Opens in new tab) website can be translated into many community languages.

    The Multicultural Centre for Women's Health (Opens in new tab) has a range of health resources available in more than 70 languages (Opens in new tab).

    Looking for information for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people?

    The Australian Nurse-Family Partnership Program (ANFPP) (Opens in new tab) is a nurse-led home visiting program that supports Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who are pregnant.

    You can find out more about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander pregnancy health on Stronger Bubba Born (Opens in new tab) or watch the How to Have a Safer Pregnancy (Opens in new tab) video.

    Speak to a maternal child health nurse

    Call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby to speak to a maternal child health nurse on 1800 882 436 (Opens in new tab) or video call. Available 7am to midnight (AET), 7 days a week.

    Last reviewed: September 2024

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