Dr. Emmanuel L. Yanthan, MS (OB-GYN)
Obstetrician & Gynecologist · Updated August 2026
“Eating for two” is the least useful phrase in pregnancy. You need only a few hundred extra calories a day in later pregnancy. What genuinely changes is your requirement for four particular nutrients — and getting those right does more than any amount of extra food.
The four
Folic acid — before you even know
It protects the baby’s developing spine and brain, and the critical window is the first few weeks, often before a pregnancy is confirmed. That is why it is started when you begin trying, not when the test turns positive. Take the supplement; food alone is not reliable enough for this one. Dark leafy greens, beans and lentils help alongside it.
Iron — the one most women here are short of
Your blood volume rises substantially in pregnancy, and iron is what carries oxygen to the baby. Anaemia is very common in this region and it leaves you exhausted, affects the baby’s growth, and makes bleeding at delivery riskier.
Locally: dark leafy greens, dried beans and pulses, liver and red meat, and dried fruit. Two practical points that make a real difference — eat something with vitamin C alongside iron-rich food, because it substantially increases how much you absorb; and keep tea and coffee away from meals, because they block it. Squeezing lemon over greens is not a folk remedy, it is chemistry.
Calcium — or the baby takes yours
The baby’s skeleton is built from calcium, and if your intake is short it comes out of your bones. Milk, curd, paneer, ragi, sesame seeds, small fish eaten with the bones, and green leafy vegetables.
DHA — for the brain and eyes
An omega-3 fat concentrated in the baby’s developing brain and retina, mostly in the last three months. Oily fish is the main source. If you do not eat fish, mention it — there are alternatives.
What actually to eat, on a normal day
Half the plate vegetables and fruit, a quarter protein — dal, eggs, fish, meat — a quarter whole grains, plus something from the calcium list. Small frequent meals work better than three large ones, particularly early on when nausea is worst. Ginger genuinely helps mild nausea.
One caution about supplements
Take what your doctor prescribes and check before adding anything else. More is not better — high doses of some vitamins, vitamin A in particular, can harm a developing baby. If someone recommends a supplement or a tonic, bring the packet to your next visit rather than starting it.
And if you cannot keep anything down
Morning sickness is common. Being unable to keep fluids down is not, and it is not something to endure for months. There is safe, effective treatment. Come in.
Pregnant and unsure what to eat?
Nutrition and iron are part of every antenatal visit here. Message us with what your current diet looks like and we’ll work from that rather than from a textbook.
General information, not advice about your particular situation. No article can replace being examined. Evita GyneCare provides antenatal care, gynecological consultations and outpatient diagnostics; we do not provide childbirth or caesarean section services.