Is a Paleo Pregnancy Safe?
Many of the emails I get concern pregnancy, babies and children. It seems Paleo is becoming increasingly popular amongst those trying to conceive and expectant mothers keen to give their baby the best possible start.
I'm commonly asked if Paleo is safe during pregnancy and for breastfeeding mothers. Whilst I don’t have children and am certainly no expert, I always find these types of questions surprising, given that pregnant women have only been eating the current western diet (SAD) for about 33 generations. Of that it’s probably only the last two or three generations that our diet has “progressed” to include the vastly altered wheat most foods contained today, industrial seed oils, HFCS, soy and many of the other horrors that pass for a “balance diet” today. Shouldn't the question be “Is it safe to eat a Western diet when pregnant”
There are so many drugs and products for pregnant women – are they really necessary given that women have been having babies for thousands of years without needing any of these? It also seems that infertility and other such problems have only increased in recent years.
It must be very difficult for a woman to take a Paleo approach to pregnancy and bringing up a Paleo baby – when so many medical professionals are resolute about conventional wisdom
I was really interested to see Chris Kresser has produced a Paleo “Healthy Baby Code” that will answer all of the questions Pregnant women – or women hoping to conceive. He’s pulled together all of the research into a complete guide with videos, MP3 recordings and PDF transcripts to explain everything about having a healthy baby
If you've got any tips, stories or advice about Paleo pregnancy or anything baby related, please share it here – you never know how much you might end up helping someone out!
Navigating Pregnancy on a Paleo Diet: What You Need to Know
Choosing a Paleo lifestyle during pregnancy might raise a few eyebrows — especially when so much conventional advice still leans heavily on grains, dairy, and low-fat recommendations. But if you’ve already embraced a real food, ancestral diet, you’re likely already aware of how nourishing and stabilising it can be for your body — and your baby.
Pregnancy places significant demands on a woman’s body, particularly in terms of micronutrients like iron, folate, vitamin A, omega-3 fatty acids, and choline. The good news? These are all abundant in a well-formulated Paleo diet. Think grass-fed meats, pasture-raised eggs, wild seafood, liver, leafy greens, bone broth, and fermented foods — all foods that human bodies (and developing babies) have evolved to thrive on.
That said, there are some extra considerations worth keeping in mind:
Key Nutrients to Focus On
- Folate – Found naturally in liver, leafy greens, and avocados (more bioavailable than synthetic folic acid).
- Iron – Especially from red meat and organ meats; helps prevent anaemia.
- Choline – Critical for baby’s brain development, best sourced from egg yolks and liver.
- Omega-3s – Essential for neural and eye development; choose wild-caught fatty fish or supplement with fish oil.
- Calcium & Magnesium – Bone broth, leafy greens, and nuts are great sources.
Can You Get Enough Calories on Paleo?
Absolutely — but it’s important to listen to your hunger cues and make sure you’re eating enough. Pregnancy isn’t the time to limit starchy veggies or be overly restrictive. Add in more sweet potatoes, pumpkin, bananas, and Paleo-friendly snacks if you’re feeling ravenous (which you probably will some days!).
What About Cravings?
Cravings during pregnancy can be intense — and sometimes confusing. A nutrient-dense Paleo base diet helps stabilise blood sugar and may reduce sugar binges, but it’s also okay to honour your body within reason. A warm bowl of mashed sweet potato with cinnamon and ghee might satisfy a sweet craving in a far more nourishing way than a packet of biscuits ever could.
Trusting Your Instincts
Many women find that eating intuitively and sticking to whole foods is the best compass during pregnancy. While it’s smart to work with a supportive healthcare provider (ideally one familiar with real food nutrition), don’t be afraid to advocate for your choices. Your body has been preparing for this for generations — quite literally.
Real Food, Real Results
Paleo pregnancies aren’t about perfection — they’re about building a strong foundation. From stronger digestion and better energy to fewer blood sugar crashes and a smoother postpartum recovery, the benefits can be wide-ranging. Many mothers also find that eating this way helps them transition naturally into breastfeeding and feeding their child whole foods from the start.
You are so right – the question should be ‘is a western diet safe during pregnancy?’ The fact that we have automatic testing for gestational diabetes suggests to me that dietary common practice leaves a lot to be desired…
As a new mother, nutritional medicine student and a paleo/primal/WAPF/wholefood follower, I’d say this is definitely what we should be aspiring to pre-conception/pregnancy/breastfeeding. And it’s not only about the nutritional density of what we’re putting in our bodies, but the food/personal care products/environmental toxins that this way of life minimises, that is so important at this time in our lives.
However, you may have noticed I said ‘aspire’. I’ve had a good diet for years, and a super clean one for the 12 months before I fell pregnant, and with all the links to nutrition and morning sickness, I felt pretty bulletproof. Then, from weeks 6-16, I had knock-you-over, 24/7, can’t keep anything down ‘morning’ sickness. (Grass fed) meat and (organic) vegetables, previously the core of my diet, were now the source of overwhelming nausea and I couldn’t stomach them.
Devastated that at the time in my life when I wanted to be the poster girl for diet perfection, giving my unborn child all the nutrients they could ever need, all I could keep down was the odd bit of toast and vegemite. A salada here and there. Awful, nutrient empty carbs.
(BTW I came across a great blogpost recently abut the role of magnesium in morning sickness, which I can’t find right now – definitely worth googling for, was a blogger within the paleo sphere)
So I had to make peace with doing the best I could – and if that meant toast and vegemite, then I had organic sourdough bread and organic butter on it. Other tips I have if you are unlucky enough to find yourself in this situation – I made buckwheat pancakes in coconut oil and would freeze them, heating and eating them first thing in the morning, I’d cook white rice in bone broth and I’d mix unhulled tahini with sweet potato to get a palatable meal with a calcium hit. It was some consolation that a naturopath advised me that my stellar pre-pregnancy diet meant I had all the stores I needed to ensure my baby was getting a full supply of nutrients despite my basic diet – I would be depleted but could work on building me up when I could eat again – which is what I did)
If you are lucky enough to eat your usual paleo-esque diet, I’d recommend the following – be aware of the different nutritional needs at different stages of pregnancy so you can adjust your food accordingly (Nina Planck’s book, while not paleo, offers a simple wholefood approach to nutrient needs across the trimesters). You may also find that you need to snack or graze while pregnant even if that’s not what you normally do (small portions of protein work best to keep nausea at bay and energy up)
I’m now breastfeeding and eating quality high fat and protein diet with plenty of coconut oil and supplementing with fermented cod liver/butter oil. And the ‘experts’ will tell you that there’s no link between diet and breast milk. but I’d beg to differ. My daughter has suffered none of the ezcema, cradle cap, etc that many newborns suffer, and while this may be pure luck, I’d suggest that a mother’s diet that mimics that composition of the milk can’t be anything but beneficial!
It’s fantastic to hear an account of a Paleo mum Pip. Do your “mum friends” ask about your diet? They must notice how healthy your daughter is and wonder what you do differently?
I’ve been suffering irregular periods all my life (no doubt caused by polycystic ovaries). Getting pregnant was never going to be easy, but for the last 3 years I hoped it might just happen, but of course it didn’t.
In June/July time I made two significant changes in my lifestyle. I gave up wheat and started exercising more. Turns out that by the end of July, before I’d gone more fully paleo giving up sugar and all other bad stuff in August, I was pregnant.
I’m certain this is no coincidence.
Thank you.