Why You Need Choline During Pregnancy

What is choline and why do you need choline during pregnancy? Plus, a 1 day pregnancy meal plan!

Choline is an essential nutrient that is naturally present in some foods and available as a dietary supplement (affiliate link). Choline is needed for many steps in metabolism and is important for regulation of memory, mood, muscle control, and other brain and nervous system functions. Choline also plays roles in gene expression and cell membrane signaling. During pregnancy, it is also important for proper spinal cord formation and early brain development.

Our bodies are able to produce some choline in our liver, but the amount the body naturally makes is not enough to meet our needs. Because of this, we must obtain choline from our diet as well. The adequate intake (AI) for choline is 450 milligrams per day during pregnancy. Needs increase during lactation (breastfeeding) to 550 milligrams per day.

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It’s estimated that up to 95% of pregnant women consume less choline during pregnancy than what’s recommended. Most prenatal vitamin/mineral supplements contain little, if any choline. Because of choline’s important role in fetal development and the lack of choline in prenatal supplements, in June 2017 the American Medical Association advocated for all prenatal vitamins to contain adequate levels of choline. I am hopeful the future will bring more meaningful amounts of choline in prenatal supplements!

So if it’s not in your prenatal supplement, where can you get it from? One option is to take a separate choline supplement (affiliate link). Another excellent option is to get it through the food you eat every day! Foods high in choline include:

Meats
Poultry
Fish
Dairy products
Eggs
Brussels sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Potatoes
Soy beans
Kidney beans

Other dietary sources of choline include

Nuts
Seeds
Whole grains

So now you have a foods list, how does that translate into your everyday diet? To help you out, I created a 1 day pregnancy meal plan that provides adequate amounts of choline. This can help give you an idea of how to mix and match foods to get adequate amounts of choline during pregnancy through your diet. You can also check out my book, the Healthy Family Cookbook: 100 fast and easy recipes for the whole family (affiliate link) for more healthy meals!

1 Day Choline-Rich Pregnancy Meal Plan

Breakfast: Sweet potato and kale hash with eggs

Snack: Greek yogurt parfait with fresh fruit and/or granola

Lunch: Grilled Turkey Avocado Sandwich

Snack: Chopped broccoli, cauliflower and/or carrots dipped in hummus

Dinner: Taco Pasta Skillet

Treat: Chocolate Banana Nut Energy Bites

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Want more pregnancy health information? Check out the posts below!

Eating for Two During Pregnancy

Should You Give In to Pregnancy Food Cravings?

What to eat before your pregnancy glucose test

Pregnancy Core Exercises

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Brittany

I'm a registered dietitian nutritionist and mom of four with a passion of helping families build confidence in the kitchen. I share family friendly recipes and helpful tips to help you navigate mealtime one bite at a time.

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