10 Best Breakfast Cereals For Pregnant Women

Cereals are an ideal and go-to breakfast for most people. However, to choose the best cereal for pregnancy, you need to be aware of its nutritional composition. Being the first meal of the day, if you want to have cereal for breakfast, it should provide you with energy to get you through the rest of the day. It should also be enriched with vitamins, minerals, fiber, carbohydrates, and other nutrients to cater to your nutritional needs during pregnancy. The right type can help you stay healthy and also benefit your baby.

Cereals are easy to prepare and the best accompaniment of milk. So in this post, we have listed out some of the best breakfast cereals for pregnant women, including their nutritional profiles.

What Should Your Cereal Have?

There is a very simple rule that governs the right diet for your pregnancy months

. Eat anything that helps your body attain all the vital nutrients and minerals that you specifically need during these nine months. Simple!

Trista Best, a registered dietitian, environmental health specialist, and adjunct nutrition professor, says, “During pregnancy, it is important to consume a balanced diet that includes a variety of nutrient-dense foods to support your and your baby’s health. When choosing a cereal, look for one high in nutrients and low in added sugars. Some options include oatmeal, whole grains, and cereals enriched with folic acid and iron.

“Also, vary your cereal choices and include a variety of other nutrient-dense foods in your diet, such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Speak with a healthcare professional before changing your diet during pregnancy.”

• Now, applying this to your breakfast cereal, you can very well figure out that you need a cereal that has the following basic properties:
• It should be high in fiber content. This is necessary as you need to increase your intake of fiber-rich foods during pregnancy. It helps prevent constipation, which is a common problem faced by pregnant women. So, look for whole-grain cereal or high-fiber cereal.

Image: Shutterstock

• • Your folic acid intake needs to be high during your pregnancy. So look for a fortified cereal that has high folic acid content. Lack of folic acid can lead to the formation of birth defects. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 3% to 6% of babies are affected by these defects annually.

• Your cereal should have an ideal balance of carbohydrates that shall give your body the required fuel for energy.
• The cereal that you eat during your pregnancy should also be organic and fortified with vitamins and minerals that are necessary during pregnancy.
• The sugar content in the cereal should be substantially lower, so go for a low-sugar cereal option. Too much sugar is a big no-no!

Quick fact

Barley-, oat-, and psyllium-based cereals lower cholesterol concentrations, and wheat-based cereals improve bowel function (1).

The Benefits Of Cereal

It is a myth that pregnant women must eat cereal for breakfast without fail

. This makes no sense and it is not humanly possible for a person to eat cereals without a break every day!

The fact that cereals are recommended during pregnancy stems from the fact that it is a great way to give your body what it needs. There is no doubt that eating cereal for breakfast is quite filling. The benefits associated with eating cereals are:

• Cereals are a great way to include milk in your diet. There are a lot of women who do not usually drink milk. So, cereals are a great way out for these women to have milk on a regular basis.
• Whole grain cereals are rich in fiber and other minerals and vitamins. Hence, it is a good way to make sure that your body gets the stipulated amount of these every day.
• Cereals can be had in many different ways. You can have it plain with milk only. You can jazz it up by adding fruits, berries and nuts to increase the flavor. Doing this also helps ensure you get all the required pregnancy nutrition.

Image: Shutterstock

• Eating cereal is fuss-free. Since you will have mood swings because of switching hormone levels, you may get hunger pangs anytime during your pregnancy. Cereals are a great way to deal with those pangs. Pour out your favorite multigrain cereal, add your favorite toppings, and you are set to combat your hunger the healthy way.

YouTuber and mother of one, Devyn, documented her pregnancy journey and shared tips on healthy eating during her pregnancy. In one of her videos, she described her healthy breakfast routine. She says, “I start my day with something simple and quick, and this is cereal. The cereal that I’m eating is oats and almonds, so it’s not too high in sugar or anything. Then, I like to add in half of the banana (as I always like to get fruit when I can) and some calcium-fortified almond milk (i).”

Point to consider

Read the nutrient label of your breakfast cereal and ensure that it contains 5g or less sugar per 100g (2).

Best Cereals For Pregnant Women

Choose the 10 best cereals during pregnancy from the table given below:

So, the next time that you are out in the supermarket, stock up on cereal of various types, such as folic acid fortified cereal, folate-rich cereals, iron-rich cereals, calcium-fortified cereals, and protein-rich cereals, while keeping in mind the pointers that we mentioned.

Check the sides of the box for the ingredients and the nutritional value of the cereal you choose and make a healthy choice for a happy pregnancy!

Infographic: What Should Your Cereal Have?

Selecting the appropriate cereal can help regulate blood sugar and blood pressure and manage your weight while pregnant. Furthermore, it provides vital nutrients to you and your baby. Here is an infographic to guide you in choosing a safe and healthy cereal during pregnancy.

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Reference : 1

Image: Dall·E/MomJunction Design Team

Is it okay to eat Special K cereal during pregnancy? The following video explains to you the pros and cons of eating this cereal.

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Reviewer Expert Author Editor Fact Checker

Dr. Irene (Eirini) Orfanoudaki is a gynecologist-obstetrician, having a private practice in Heraklion, Crete, and collaborating with private health clinic ‘MITERA’ – Euromeda in Heraklion. With around 21 years of experience as a gynecologist-obstetrician, she specializes in ultrasound, colposcopy, minimal and advance gynecologic surgery, aesthetic gynecology, fertility consulting, menopause consulting, operative obstetrics, high-risk pregnancy, normal deliveries, antenatal, intra-parum, postnatal care, breast diseases, and teenage issues.

Read full bio of Dr. Irene (Eirini) Orfanoudaki

• 

  Trista K. BestMPH, RD, LDN Trista Best is a registered dietitian at Balance One Supplements, Environmental Health Specialist, and Adjunct Nutrition Professor. She completed her Masters of Public Health Nutrition from Liberty University and BS Dietetics from the University of Alabama before getting Dietitian Registration in 2018.

  Trista Best is a registered dietitian at Balance One Supplements, Environmental Health Specialist, and Adjunct Nutrition Professor. She completed her Masters of Public Health Nutrition from Liberty University and BS Dietetics from the University of Alabama before getting Dietitian Registration in 2018.

Rebecca is a pregnancy writer and editor with a passion for delivering research-based and engaging content in areas of fertility, pregnancy, birth, and post-pregnancy. She did her graduation in Biotechnology and Genetics from Loyola Academy, Osmania University and obtained a certification in ‘Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pregnancy’ from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU).

Read full bio of Rebecca Malachi

Swati Patwal is a clinical nutritionist, a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) and a toddler mom with more than a decade of experience in diverse fields of nutrition. She started her career as a CSR project coordinator for a healthy eating and active lifestyle project catering to school children.

Read full bio of Swati Patwal

Dr. Joyani Das did her post-graduation from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra and PhD in Pharmacology. Previously, she worked as an associate professor, faculty of Pharmacology, for two years. With her research background in preclinical studies and a zeal for scientific writing, she joined MomJunction as a health writer.

Read full bio of Dr. Joyani Das