Building a Nutrition Routine Before and During Pregnancy: A Practical Guide

Whether you're actively trying to conceive, newly pregnant, or simply thinking ahead, one of the most common questions is deceptively simple: what should I actually be taking? The honest answer is that it depends on your individual health, diet, and what your doctor recommends after reviewing your bloodwork — but there are some nutrients that come up consistently enough in general nutrition guidance that it's worth understanding what they do and why they're discussed so often.

This isn't a prescriptive checklist — it's a starting point for an informed conversation with your healthcare provider.

Folate: the one most people have heard of

Folate (vitamin B9) is probably the most widely recognised nutrient in pregnancy nutrition, and for good reason — adequate folate intake before and during early pregnancy is linked to normal maternal tissue growth and is part of official EU-recognised nutrition guidance for women who are pregnant or planning to be.

Iron: rising demand, easy to overlook

As blood volume increases during pregnancy, so does the demand for iron to support haemoglobin production. Iron contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism, the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and normal oxygen transport in the body — all of which matter more as pregnancy progresses. We've written a longer piece on iron in pregnancy if you want the full picture, including why the form of iron (like bisglycinate) affects both absorption and digestive comfort.

Zinc: relevant before conception and beyond

Zinc is less talked about than folate or iron, but it has an officially recognised role in normal fertility and reproduction, alongside normal immune function — making it relevant both while trying to conceive and once pregnant. Our deeper look at zinc and fertility covers why this mineral deserves more attention than it usually gets.

Vitamin D: a year-round consideration

Especially relevant in Northern and Central European climates with limited sun exposure for much of the year, vitamin D is commonly discussed alongside pregnancy nutrition due to its established role in normal bone maintenance.

Omega-3 (DHA): a maternal-infant link

DHA is one of the few nutrients with an EU-authorised claim specifically for maternal intake, recognised as contributing to normal brain development of the foetus and breastfed infants when consumed at the appropriate daily intake.

Botanicals: a different category, worth understanding

You may also come across botanical ingredients like chaste tree in fertility-focused product ranges. It's worth knowing that botanicals sit under different EU regulation than vitamins and minerals — health claims for plant-based ingredients like this haven't been formally authorised at the EU level, which is why you won't see specific effect claims attached to them on a compliant product page. We've written about chaste tree's genuinely interesting history separately, focused on what it is rather than claims about what it does.

How to actually approach this

A reasonable starting point looks less like "take everything on this list" and more like:

1. Talk to your doctor or midwife first, especially if you're already taking any medication or have an existing health condition
2. Get relevant bloodwork done where possible — iron and vitamin D status, in particular, are often checked directly rather than guessed at
3. Build gradually, rather than starting multiple new supplements at once — this also makes it easier to notice how your body responds to each one
4. Check for overlap between any multivitamin you take and individual supplements, particularly with iron and zinc, where taking more than one source at once is generally discouraged

Where to start on our site

Our Fertility and Pregnancy Support ranges are organised around this same life-stage thinking.

This article is for general educational purposes and reflects publicly available EU nutrition guidance. It isn't a substitute for personalised medical advice — always speak with your doctor or midwife about what's right for your specific situation.