Pregnancy can be a wild ride, filled with cravings for pickles and ice cream, hormone-fuelled mood-swings, and endless conflicting advice from every direction. But when it comes to pregnancy nutrition, look no further than a pregnancy nutritionist or dietitian!

Seeing a pregnancy nutritionist is the key to navigating the amazing world of pregnancy nutrition and coming out the other side feeling well-nourished, confident, empowered and less like a zombie.

In this article, I’ll uncover 8 benefits of seeing a pregnancy nutritionist, from ensuring your baby’s brain develops at an astonishing rate, to reducing your risk of gestational diabetes. A pregnancy dietitian is ready to help you navigate this exciting but also overwhelming and stressful time, so you can have a happy and healthy pregnancy!

So whether this is your first pregnancy or you’re a seasoned pro, read on to discover the many benefits of working with a pregnancy nutritionist.

Firstly, what is a Pregnancy Nutritionist?

A Pregnancy Nutritionist is someone who specialises in nutrition during pregnancy. Depending on our qualifications, we can also be known as Pregnancy Dietitians or Prenatal Dietitians.

A Dietitian is a nutrition professional who has undertaken a nutrition and dietetic degree and is regulated by and registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). You can check if a dietitian is registered through the HCPC online register.

It’s important to keep in mind that anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, while you need to be registered with the HCPC to be able to call yourself a “dietitian”. However, many Registered Dietitians will also call themselves Nutritionists, since that term is often more used by the general public.

Who am I - Nutritionist vs Dietitian?

The answer is both! I am a Registered Dietitian, and you can find my registration details in the HCPC online register. However, due to the reasons I mentioned above, I use a mixture of these terms, and you will see me refer to myself as any of the following: Pregnancy Nutritionist, Pregnancy Dietitian, Prenatal Nutritionist, Prenatal Dietitian, or even Pregnancy Nutritionist & Dietitian and other similar combinations.

Now let’s move on to why you would benefit from seeing a pregnancy/prenatal dietitian/nutritionist!

1. A pregnancy nutritionist can help you eat the right nutrients at the right time, to benefit both mum and baby

Let’s start with the most obvious. Your body is essentially running a 9-month marathon (it’s true, science has backed it up) so that you can grow an entire human being from a tiny single cell! You’re incredible!

To help you achieve this amazing feat, it’s important to eat the right nutrients to fuel your body. The timing is also very relevant, as many nutrients play key roles during different trimesters.

Alongside the macronutrients like protein, carbs and fats that power the growth, there are essential vitamins and minerals that are needed for the intricacies of your baby’s development.

A pregnancy nutritionist can ensure that your individual nutrient needs are met throughout your pregnancy, so that you can provide the right nourishment for yourself and for your baby’s development.

2. A pregnancy nutritionist can help you reduce the risk of miscarriage

Miscarriage is a heart-breaking reality for many women. In many cases the cause can be unknown, but there are also many known causes, from genetic abnormalities to certain conditions or infections. Some causes can’t necessarily be influenced, such as genetics, but there are many that can.

Nutrition can play an important role in the prevention of miscarriages, and a pregnancy nutritionist can guide you through foods that can help reduce the risk of a pregnancy loss.

3. A pregnancy nutritionist can help you to manage or reduce your risk of certain pregnancy complications

Pregnancy is overwhelming enough without adding gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia to the mix. These pregnancy complications will generally be identified and mostly managed by your midwife or obstetrician, however, a pregnancy nutritionist can play a crucial role in helping you prevent or manage these conditions.

Some women might be at a higher risk of developing certain pregnancy complications due to various factors. You can’t change your genetics, but your nutrition certainly can be influenced!

A pregnancy nutritionist can help identify if you are at a higher risk of certain pregnancy complications, and work with you to reduce this risk through the foods that you eat.

4. A pregnancy nutritionist can help you increase your energy levels

As I mentioned earlier, pregnancy is like running a 9-month marathon, and I’m feeling tired just thinking about that! Your energy levels are affected by the hormones that are fluctuating throughout the trimesters of your pregnancy. Though there is variation, it’s very common for pregnant women to feel particularly exhausted during the first and third trimesters.

There are many ways to influence your day-to-day food choices and dietary patterns to help improve your energy levels, and a pregnancy nutritionist can guide you towards feeling less tired.

Are you ready to achieve these benefits with the expert support of a pregnancy nutritionist?

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5. A pregnancy nutritionist can help you prevent or manage other pregnancy symptoms and their potential consequences

Do you find yourself sitting on the toilet struggling with constipation, wondering when that pregnancy glow everyone talks about will finally hit you? Apologies for the imagery, but when it comes to pregnancy, constipation will likely join the conversation, along with nausea, vomiting and other annoying pregnancy symptoms.

Not only are these symptoms uncomfortable to say the least, some of them can cause issues if left unmanaged. Straining too much due to constipation can affect your pelvic floor and potentially lead to issues like incontinence. Excessive nausea and vomiting may make it hard to eat enough of the right nutrients to nourish yourself and your baby.

Luckily, there are plenty of nutritional strategies to help, so don’t let anyone tell you to just put up with it! A pregnancy nutritionist can support you in managing these symptoms so that you can have a more comfortable and smooth pregnancy.

If you’re struggling with constipation during your pregnancy, why not join me for a Constipation Mini Consult. This is a short consultation focused on giving you relief from the symptoms and complications of constipation. Find out more here.

6. A pregnancy nutritionist can help you understand and apply food safety recommendations for pregnancy

When it comes to food advice during pregnancy, it’s the ones related to food safety that are most prevalent. You’ve probably received a leaflet from your midwife about it. There are definitely important reasons to either limit your intake of certain foods, or to prepare them in particular ways, so it’s worth paying attention. But making it happen isn’t always smooth sailing, and can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress.

A pregnancy nutritionist can help you better understand the reasons behind these recommendations, and how to apply these in your regular food routine.

7. A pregnancy nutritionist can help widen your baby’s taste preferences

Here’s one you probably didn’t expect. Around the end of the first trimester, a developing baby starts swallowing the amniotic fluid that surrounds them in the womb. Doesn’t sound particularly yum, but what does amniotic fluid taste like?

Research shows that what a pregnant woman eats can actually influence the flavour of amniotic fluid. There's even been a recent study showing different facial expressions of foetuses in response to different foods eaten by their mum.

But how is this actually beneficial to you? Well, more research has found that being exposed to certain foods while in the womb can predispose a baby to be more accepting of that food when it comes to weaning.

A pregnancy nutritionist can help you eat a varied and healthy diet, so that your baby is therefore more likely to also enjoy a varied and healthy diet. This is a great piece of the puzzle in setting up some healthy nutrition habits from before they are born!

8. A pregnancy nutritionist can help reduce your stress during your pregnancy

It’s hard not to experience at least some stress during pregnancy, and it certainly doesn’t help when you hear “stress is bad for the baby.” Thankfully there’s lots of strategies to help manage your stress, from reaching out to your midwife or obstetrician if you have any concerns, doing prenatal yoga and meditation, going for a walk in nature, and reaching out for support.

By seeing a pregnancy nutritionist, you’ll get another important avenue of support to ensure both you and your baby are well nourished, and you can feel confident and reassured that you’re in good hands.

Bonus Benefit: A pregnancy nutritionist can help you set long-term healthy nutrition habits to benefit your whole family for generations to come!

Ok, maybe I’m being a bit ambitious here, but why not! I truly believe that the period of time during your pregnancy is a perfect opportunity to start setting up some healthy nutrition habits that will not only benefit you and your baby, but your whole family too.

Nutrition is one of the best forms of preventative healthcare, and can play a massive role in reducing yours and your family’s risk of many chronic conditions as you age. Even simple habits that may seem insignificant now can add up to a massive impact over a lifetime.

On top of that, your child or children will then grow up with these healthy nutrition habits as their norm, and then apply them to their own adult lives and to their own children. Hence the generational benefit!

As a pregnancy nutritionist, I am specialised in working with pregnant women in order to help them achieve the best possible outcomes for themselves and their baby. I would love to support you in this transformative journey. Let’s get started!

8 Benefits of Seeing a Pregnancy Nutritionist and Dietitian