If you're pregnant for the first time, you're probably paying closer attention to what you eat and drink than ever before. After all, it's one thing aiming to eat healthily for your own benefit, but quite another when everything you ingest affects another person too.
So here's a new online tool to help you check whether or not you're eating and drinking the right stuff. It's a simple checklist which asks you questions about your nutrition. The system then makes suggestions based on your results.
The fact that you can do it online with nobody else looking over your shoulder means that you can be totally honest and not just say what you think the professionals want to hear ("Yes doctor of course I have six glasses of water every day without fail" etc.).
The interactive online pregnancy nutrition checker has been developed by Spatone™ in association with nutritional therapist Joanna Lyall, who says "The online nutrition checker is a quick and simple way to check you are eating enough of the right foods during pregnancy. Because the information is tailored to your personal responses the recommendations are straightforward and easy to follow, allowing you to choose the nutrients and vitamins for you and your growing baby".
There's also a free, downloadable 'Guide to healthy eating in pregnancy', in association with midwife and lecturer Maggie Evans, which dispels some of the myths around what you can and can't eat when pregnant. It's available online here.
Maggie Evans says: "This downloadable leaflet contains information for mothers-to-be on why a carefully balanced diet is important for their unborn baby. It also addresses how to combat pregnancy discomforts via diet and how particular cravings can identify a lacking of certain nutrients."