Pregnancy can feel overwhelming with so many things to do to prepare and so many questions about the best way to do so. Make your life easier and don’t spend hours stressing and googling to figure out the best nutrition for you and baby. These are the reasons why I recommend letting an expert do the work for you.

1. Growing a Human: Can you think of a more important job or time period in life where decisions can have a bigger impact? You are literally growing organs and body parts from scratch in your own body. That’s major. It stands to reason that what you’re putting in your body to form the building blocks of that little baby should matter. It does. It matters a lot. Which is why working with a Registered Dietitian who specializes in prenatal nutrition is so important.

2. Symptom Management: With pregnancy comes a long list of symptoms that can be challenging to deal with. Nausea, fatigue, heart burn, headaches, leg cramps, bloating, constipation, food aversions, insatiable appetite…all of these symptoms can affect your nutrition. And more importantly, the right foods and supplements can even help to treat some of these symptoms.

3.Prevent deficiencies: Nutrient deficiencies are not ideal at any time, but they can be especially dangerous during pregnancy because they can have lasting impact on the development of your baby and long-term health. Work with a dietitian who can evaluate your lab values and food intake to see where adjustments need to be made to ensure that you and your baby are getting the very best nourishment.

4. Avoid complications: The right nutrition can absolutely help prevent some pregnancy complications. If you are at risk for preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, high or low birth weight baby, checking in with a dietitian can make sure that the food you are eating is supporting the healthiest pregnancy and delivery possible.

5. Gestational Diabetes: GDM gets a bullet all to itself. I think nutrition counseling should be mandatory if you are one of the up to 10% of women who get diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes in pregnancy. Management of this condition can be done exclusively via nutrition, though medication may be needed (and that is okay too!). You can still have a safe delivery of a perfectly healthy baby if Gestational Diabetes is well-controlled during pregnancy. Education and support is essential.