Vitamin C During Pregnancy

Not only does it boost your immune system and reduce your risk of suffering from iron-deficiency anaemia in pregnancy, Vitamin C is key to your baby's physical development too.

Vitamin C:

• Aids in the production of collagen, which supports normal growth, healthy tissue and wound healing¹
• Supports your baby's immune system²
• Helps your baby to absorb iron and build up stores for later use²

The Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) of vitamin C during pregnancy – the amount considered to be enough to meet most people’s needs – is 50mg per day, which is 25% more than you would normally need³. A 100g portion of strawberries contain 57mg. If you decide to breastfeed your baby, you shouldn’t need to make any dietary changes but it’s a good idea to eat healthily. You can always talk to your midwife or healthcare professional if you’d like more advice. Read more about a healthy breastfeeding diet.

Since it is a water-soluble vitamin, it isn’t stored by your body, which means a daily intake during pregnancy is essential. Fortunately, you can get all the vitamin C you need to support you and your baby by eating a healthy, balanced pregnancy diet that includes plenty of fruit and vegetables⁴.

Foods rich in vitamin C include broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kiwi fruit, citrus fruits, red, green or yellow pepper, sweet potatoes, strawberries and tomatoes.

Peppers contain over twice as much vitamin C as oranges. Peppers contain around 126mg per 100g whereas oranges only contain 52mg of vitamin C per 100g⁵.

The table below shows the amount of vitamin C you get from different foods⁶:

As with other water-soluble vitamins, the way you prepare and cook foods can affect the vitamin C content⁵.

Boiling can destroy some of the vitamin C within the foods you’re preparing. To retain as much nutrient quality as possible, it’s best to steam or grill your vegetables⁵. Or better still, eat them raw in salads.

Vitamin C helps the body absorb non-haem iron, the type found in plant sources such as spinach and chickpeas. Eating good sources of vitamin C with plant sources of iron during pregnancy can increase your daily intake considerably⁹. To get the most out of your diet, include fruit and iron sources within the same meal, whether it’s adding chopped fruit to a salad or having a whole fruit for dessert⁹.

An adequate intake of iron is essential to support your increased blood volume and reduce the risk of iron-deficiency anaemia, and to help build up your baby’s iron stores to support their learning and growth for the first 6 months of life². Read more about the importance of iron in your pregnancy diet.

• Porridge topped with sliced strawberries
• Sliced red peppers dipped in hummus
• Blackberry & raspberry ginger yoghurt pots
  
• Corn & courgette fritters with poached eggs
  
• Sesame-crusted tuna steaks with quinoa
  
• Sweet potato with homemade beans & feta
  
• Italian panzanella salad with roast chicken