The Ordinary Doula Podcast

E98: Fueling A Healthy Pregnancy

• Angie Rosier • Episode 98

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Building a baby is the most intense construction project your body will ever take on, and it runs twenty-four seven. Angie shares a practical, judgment-free roadmap for fueling that work with simple foods, steady hydration, and small habits that add up—so you feel better now, support efficient labor, and heal faster afterward.

We break down realistic protein goals and easy ways to reach them without relying only on meat—think eggs, beans, Greek yogurt, tofu, edamame, nuts, and fish. You’ll learn why blood sugar stability matters for contraction strength, how electrolytes help your uterus function like the powerful muscle it is, and where a smart prenatal vitamin fits alongside a colorful, varied diet. We also talk through the messy realities: nausea, smell aversions, tiny stomach space, and the days when oatmeal and popsicles are all you can manage. You’ll walk away with snack pairings that actually work, hydration tricks that stick, and ideas for preparing freezer-friendly meals that can be eaten one-handed at 2 a.m.

As labor approaches, we outline light, nutrient-dense options for early labor and cool, refreshing choices for active labor—frozen grapes, smoothies, broth, and electrolyte sips. Then we carry the plan into postpartum with soups, stews, casseroles, overnight oats, and protein-forward snacks that rebuild you while you care for your newborn. Through it all, the message is simple: perfection isn’t required. Small, consistent choices—more protein, better hydration, a bit of fiber, a pinch of electrolytes—create real momentum for a healthier pregnancy, steadier labor, and smoother recovery.

If this conversation helps you feel more prepared and less overwhelmed, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s expecting, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Your stories and tips make this community stronger—what snack or hydration trick has helped you most?

Visit our website, here: https://birthlearning.com/
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Show Credits

Host: Angie Rosier
Music: Michael Hicks
Photographer: Toni Walker
Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood
Producer: Gillian Rosier Frampton
Voiceover: Ryan Parker

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with Angie Rosier, hosted by Birth Learning, where we help prepare folks for labor and birth with expertise coming from 20 years of experience in a busy doula practice, helping thousands of people prepare for labor, providing essential knowledge and tools for positive and empowering birth experiences.

SPEAKER_01:

And I'm excited, I guess I'm excited for every episode and every topic, but um tonight's or today's episode is about something that I don't think gets nearly enough attention and something I feel kind of passionate about. I am no expert on this, um, but it is something that I think we all should give a little bit more attention to. And that is nutrition in pregnancy. So I, you know, having done this for a long time, I'm a firm believer that birth is not about perfect performance. It's about a unique process. And a lot of times that process is gonna have to do with how we structure it, how we prepare for it. And we can kind of prepare way ahead of the day of delivery by how we take care of our bodies during labor, or sorry, during pregnancy. So I want to talk about um something that does not come up nearly enough in prenatal conversation. This is prenatal conversation with providers. This is also prenatal conversation with even amongst friends, right, in society um with doulas, unless you're like really going out of your way and trying hard, whether you do regularly in life or specifically in pregnancy, I don't think nutrition gets nearly enough attention. So, what I want to talk about tonight is not eating perfectly um and not um avoiding enjoying enjoyment with eating, but just talking about real food and real situations, real people, and and how that really truly does affect outcomes. Because what you put in your mouth throughout your entire nine months of growing a body, it's gonna impact that body, and it's gonna impact um kind of your processes along the way as well. So I've watched hundreds of pregnancies unfold, and um healthy nutrition definitely does play a part of that, and that's about being prepared, like physically prepared, emotionally prepared, energetically prepared for the task, the feat, kind of that event of um labor and delivery of giving birth. Um, so we're gonna kind of talk about what really fuels a healthy pregnancy and how that can help impact better outcomes all the way through. So, why nutrition matters? When you're pregnant, like as you can imagine, your body is like this brilliant nonstop construction site. So 24-7. And those of you who are pregnant or have been, you know this. Like this is an everyday, all day kind of event, right? Um, there's a constant reminder and how you feel, how you look, like your body, your body is impacted from head to toe through with pregnancy. So blood volume almost doubles. Your organs shift around to make space for the baby as the baby grows. And your cells are building an entire body, right? Um, they're building another person's body's body organs, cells, um, and keeping you going and functioning too. So that's a lot of work that your body's doing. And that really does take fueling. It takes steady, reliable um fuel for that to happen. So good nutrition helps you avoid blood sugar crashes, it helps you avoid swelling, dizziness, fatigue, um, to some extent nausea, helps build a strong placenta, a strong umbilical cord. Um, again, that blood volume is incredibly important, a strong amniotic sac. All these are going to be the support system for the baby's environment. It also, um, good nutrition also supports balanced hormones throughout pregnancy and gives you stamina you need for labor and recovery. Like recovery is a legit process as well. So your body is needing supplies. Like if we look at food as supplies, that's kind of helpful, I think. Um, and we look at food as building blocks. So, protein, if you think about it, every cell in your body is built of amino acids, which are protein, right? Um, it's the hero of pregnancy, like it's the quiet hero of building another human body is protein. So most people, and I I've heard these numbers, and I, you know, my personal study on nutrition, I think they are sometimes low, um, but the recommendation is 80 to 100 grams of protein a day. Um, and I think sometimes if you especially if we're pregnant with multiples or have other things going on, it could could be a lot more than that as well. So that may sound like a lot, and maybe you've never made a deep dive into your nutrition to see what your macros are, but um if you think about just eating a protein at every single meal and a protein snack, you're gonna be able to really easily get within that 80 to 100 gram range a day. So I know sometimes we think of protein all in meat. Um, and some some some of my clients are vegans, they're absolutely vegan. Some are lotter omnivores, some are carnivores, but I want you to also think of other sources of protein that are not just meat, right? It's not just about eating steak by any means, but eggs, um, beans, nuts, nut butters, Greek yogurt, um, chicken's a great one, fish, um, tuna fish is packed with protein, tofu. There's a lot of different options that are gonna give you a lot of protein. Edamame beans are amazing. Um, so protein helps keep your blood sugar steady, and it helps every little building block of that is gonna help you grow a strong baby. Like I remember being pregnant and I felt such a huge responsibility for making someone else's body, like they've gotta live with this body for the rest of their life. And what I, you know, what I help them with, what I set them out, the path I set them on, is kind of gonna set their life on a path. Oh, okay, it's not that much pressure, but I felt that. I definitely felt that. I want to grow the best body for someone else that I can. Um, but this will help your body grow strong tissues and organs for that little baby's body that you're growing. And then of course, there's hydration. So you produce about an extra liter of blood. Um, and we include like all fluids, amniotic fluid, lymph fluid, like your body is needing a lot of water. So if you look to consume 80 to 100 ounces a day, um, and again, that could be, you know, on the conservative side too. And remember electrolytes. We can get electrolytes, obviously, from food, but sometimes it's fun to splash, you know, some flavor and electrolytes into your water too. Um, coconut water is great, just a squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of salt. You can kind of make your own as well. Um, but these little things make a big difference over time. Like where you have nine months to work on this. And again, it's not about being perfect, it's about just just trying and making small changes if you need to, but it can make a big difference later on. And of course, then we have fats, complex carbohydrates. Um, you need these for energy, right? We totally need these for energy. That's best it can be consumed in whole grains. Um, healthy fats like nuts, avocados, um, will kind of keep hormones, hormones balanced and keep your energy steady. So some folks who are pregnant have incredible fatigue, right? Fatigue at certain parts of pregnancy, certain times of the day, um, it can be incredibly fatiguing. And think about fueling the body and kind of experiment in your own little life on how your fueling can shift to steady with some of those things. And then, of course, there's micronutrients, iron, calcium, folate, all of the vitamins and minerals that are um in a good prenatal vitamin. If you eat a varied diet as far as fruits, vegetables, um, a good variety of proteins from different sources, um, great hydration, some good electrolytes, you're probably going to cover most of that, but prenatal vitamins do a really good job at filling in the gaps. But food obviously does the best job. So don't just rely on your prenatal vitamin. Um, and some people will um, you know, get a lot of supplements going on during pregnancy. Work with a dietitian, work with um someone who knows nutrition really well, your provider perhaps, to see what um supplements would be beneficial in your situation. So all of that's fine and dandy, right? A good healthy diet, awesome protein, awesome hydration, great fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lovely. However, let's get to the real situation here is that you're pregnant. We're talking about doing this while you're pregnant, right? Let's talk about the reality of that. Because I don't know about you, but how you feel when you're pregnant, I did not like, oh, sick, sick, sick. I was just miserable for weeks. And the more times I was pregnant, the worse it got, the longer that lasted. So I didn't like wake up and jump out of bed every morning wanting to eat kale. You know, that just wasn't my thing ever. Um, I didn't want to eat anything. I wanted to vomit most of the time. A lot of people were just hugging the toilet in the morning and hoping that, you know, salting crackers count as a meal, and that's, you know, limping along. So that that's a reality of pregnancy. There are people out there who have no sickness feelings, no nauseous feelings, like kudos to you. Um, that was not me, but I'm glad that that is your reality. But it's okay. It's all okay if you feel sick, if you don't. Um, and and we don't have again, this isn't about being perfect. Like if all you can handle today is oatmeal and popsicles, that's fine. That's totally fine. So do what works, do what you can until your appetite, until your appetite kind of shifts and changes again. Typically during pregnancy, it will. Um, and it, you know, what doesn't sound great this week, in a few weeks, you'll be able to do. But some people have incredible food aversions during pregnancy and aroma aversions, right? Like smelling things and preparing things, like the thought of preparing chicken or um, you know, different types of meat. Like it's just too much. We can't do it. So do it works, just do it works while you can. Um, I will say that giving some good attention to protein and nutrition can help. It's not a perfect fix all the time. And I I'd like to do another deep dive about this um for morning sickness and feeling nauseous specifically, but I have her had clients talk about amazing results from um really giving attention to their diet and their nutrition to help with that. Um so some people will eat a pretty awful diet at times during pregnancy, you know, and sometimes you just feel awful enough, like getting through a day, that's too much, right? That's just about all you can do. So that's fine. It's totally fine. Pregnancy is gonna be that that way for a little while for some people for sure. But let's also talk about nutrition and how that can influence birth, like the labor and birth process and the postpartum process and the recovery. Because maybe you don't feel like eating amazing um until later on in your pregnancy. And it's funny at that time, as those organs have shifted, our stomachs, you know, get really squished up, of course. So sometimes little meals, big meals, like, oh, it's just hard to eat very much food. Um, so we might eat several small meals during the day. But here's the way it gets kind of interesting. Your daily nutrition habits definitely impact your labor, which is kind of cool, and your postpartamin recovery process. So having stable blood sugars actually helps contractions um stay steady instead of stalling, because those contractions, that's a muscle working, right? It needs energy, it needs fuel as well. Um hydration throughout pregnancy supports your uterus. And this is a muscle that's preparing for an incredible event, and it needs electrolytes to work efficiently. Um, iron and protein, when those levels are high, when our blood is strong, um, when we've built strong organs, then postpartum bleeding recovery go more smoothly as well. So there's nothing magic about this, it's just how the body works, how the cells work, and what you eat builds the cells that power you during birth and your healing. So feed yourself well. This is not about being perfect, not about controlling everything. It's just about what you can do today, what you can do now and today. Because your body deserves the right tools. Um, and you will do the best you can. We all just kind of do the best we can. So here's some little kitchen chips maybe that you can use right now, whether you're in early pregnancy, late pregnancy, postpartum, just keep snacks, keep snacks around and have a variety of snacks, really truly. Like have them in your car, have them in the bag you carry around, have them by the bed, have them, you know, if you have a sitting space in an office, have some snacks there and choose your snacks carefully. Like sometimes I just grab, right? Grab and go when I remember feeling so, so nauseous and sick for um during pregnancy, and I would have like a little bowl of Cheerios or cornflakes, like some bland cereal, and I would just, as long as I was putting some little thing into my mouth, like constantly, all morning, all day, I would just put one cornflake at a time into my mouth, and that seemed to help um curb some of the absolute horrible nauseousness that I felt. But I should have been a little better about getting snacks that um were a little more intentional. So pair carbs with protein, right? So if you have apples, if you could do an apple, great, that has great fiber in it. Um, do it with peanut butter. If you're doing crackers, crackers are pretty popular in pregnancy, do it with cheese or almonds. Um if you're if you can do some veggies, awesome, amazing fiber and really good new um hydration in there as well for a lot of vegetables. Do that with hummus. Um, drink water before you feel thirsty. Sometimes if you let yourself get hungry in pregnancy, oh, you've lost it. You've kind of gone over the edge. Um, so kind of get yourself before that and and spice up your water a little bit. There's lots of different ways. Great electrolyte mixes and drinks. Sometimes can be adding a little bit of um flavor to your water in any way that you can. Of course, low sugar, no sugar is going to be the best options. Um, but drink before you get thirsty. Kind of have something to sip on all the times. Maybe hot is gonna be your ticket. Maybe have something cold to sip on will be your ticket, maybe room temperature, ice, maybe you're crunching on ice or sucking on ice to keep things going. And then labor time comes, right? All this prep, we've built this cute little baby body. Um, in early labor, we want to nourish yourself and do it well. So eat something satisfying, something with deep nutrition if you can. Kind of eat light, but you know, probably eat lighter later on. This could be like toast and almond butter, it could be yogurt, it could be a banana. Um, and then later in labor, a lot of people, the further they get in labor, most people don't want anything hot and heavy. They kind of just want something I always think of like on the sweeter side and refreshing and cool. Usually it's something cool they want in later labor. So that might be something like um frozen grapes. A lot of people love frozen grapes. Um, that could be a slushie of some kind, a little bit of a smoothie that you've prepared. Um, but have something like cool and refreshing for later during labor. And then postpartum too. Like a lot of times we neglect that postpartum period. You can guess soups ready ahead of time, stews, casseroles, things you can um freeze or re reheat just one-handed, you know, because you'll be holding the baby a lot of the times. Or what are some snacks you can grab at 2 a.m. when you're breastfeeding a baby? Also think of protein there. Um, that could be some almonds, it could be um dates and almonds, it could be uh fresh fruit, um, like I said, hummus, just something you can grab. We had a um mom of twins one time, both in pregnancy and in labor. She was the snack queen, um, and she had to eat a lot of calories. She had two full-term babies that were seven pounds, and she did it all by nutrition. It was pretty phenomenal. She hit some really amazing protein goals, and she had a peanut butter sandwich. I don't know if it peanut butter honey, peanut butter jam, but she had that every night. Um, um, her postpartum doulas and her husband would get this sandwich ready, and wherever she'd be nursing those babies at night, she would eat a full-on sandwich in the middle of the night. Um, so kind of think of postpartum, you know, nutrition following you into postpartum as well. Um, really simple go-to meals for pregnancy for postpartum. Um, some overnight oats if you did overnight oats, soak them in uh nut milk if you want, or cow's milk, whatever it is that you enjoy, or water if you want. Um, you can suck with chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp parts, um, some nuts and fruits. That's a great um snack to eat or breakfast that's ready for you. And a lot of times when you wake up feeling sick, if something's just ready, it's a little bit easier to get in something than to grab something that's not so amazing. So that a breakfast like that is going to be loaded with fiber, protein, and it's a slow burning energy. So that energy can last you through the morning. Um, it's just waiting there for you to wake up when you are ready for you when you're tired and hungry. Um, so again, I want to like remember this isn't about perfection. Nobody's perfect. Um, this is just about installments of nutrition, right? Those building blocks as you're just fueling your body and stability about it, just in small, consistent little acts, the stability of that hopefully can be really beneficial to you. I see a lot of, as I work in the hospitals, a lot of birth um stories, you could say, birth situations and outcomes that um are because mom has gestational diabetes, mom has preclampsia. Um, some not all, not all. I'm not claiming that all these can be fixed by nutrition, but a lot of them can. And I know we don't give nearly enough attention to nutrition during pregnancy. So remember that you are your body's being taxed when you're pregnant and you're building a whole nother body. You need to take very good care of yourself. You you deserve that. Some people take the best care of their own body when they're pregnant because they're kind of doing it for somebody else. And sometimes it's easier to do something for someone else than for us, or they'll be really good about their nutrition. But please give your nutrition some um attention and give it some kindness. Give your body some kindness, not criticism. Um, just make little shifts and adjustments as you can. So eat whip feels good. Hydrate often, listen to your body. Um, and I know sometimes that's gonna be an absolute train wreck. I remember um when I was pregnant, sometimes I'd have crazy intense cravings for strange things that I never would have wanted outside of pregnancy. I remember one time I had to have it like immediately a meat lover's pizza hut pizza. And to now I look at that, and yeah, I think even the next day I looked at that like, oh gross, I can't, I just can't even eat that. But at the moment, that's kind of what the craving was. So um listen to your body, listen to what it needs, and surround yourself with things to kind of make it easy, which which can be helpful. So please give a little attention and intention to nutrition um during your journey. It will help your baby, it will help your process, it will help you in postpartum as well. Um, this is something I wish I knew way more about. I am fascinated with and I love to study nutrition on my own. Um, but it's something that I encourage you to go down a rabbit hole about, find an expert, get with a dietitian. There are people who specialize in that for pregnancy. We've had some guests on our podcast about that, and gosh, I love what I learned from them. So hopefully this helps a little bit uh along your journey. And as always, as we close up today, I want you to remember to take great care of yourself, um, be gentle and kind to yourself, and find someone else to connect with, find another human to connect with, whether virtually, whether in person. Uh, maybe that includes touch, um, a smile, uh, eye contact, but please make human connection with someone else that'll help your day and help theirs. Thanks for being with us, and we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_00:

Episode credits will be in the show notes. And next time, as we continue to explore the many aspects of giving birth.