The foods you eat during pregnancy help build your baby – but so, too, does what you drink. Your water needs increase to support your pregnancy and your baby, which makes it important to stay hydrated. Here’s how to ensure you drink enough water throughout pregnancy.
Health benefits of drinking water
Sipping on water may be one of the simplest steps you can take towards a healthy pregnancy. That’s because staying hydrated offers many health benefits. Drinking water:
- Supports your body. Somewhere around three-quarters of your body is made up of water – which helps to support digestion, regulate your body temperature, and create hormones, among many other essential functions.
- Supports your pregnancy. Your body needs more water during pregnancy for a number of reasons, including your increased metabolism (which requires water to hum along) and a significantly higher blood volume (which supplies your baby with the oxygen and nutrients he needs to grow).
- Reduces swelling. If your feet and ankles are swollen, drinking more water can actually help. In fact, fluid retention can result from not drinking enough, because your body hangs on to more fluid if it senses it's becoming dehydrated. (If swelling is excessive or comes on suddenly, especially in your hands, legs, or face, contact your caregiver, as this can be a sign of preeclampsia.)
- Keeps you regular. Fluids also help prevent common pregnancy problems such as constipation and hemorrhoids by keeping your bowels moving and your stools soft.
- Lowers the risk of UTIs. Drinking water dilutes your urine and causes you to flush out bacteria as you pee more often, which reduces your risk of urinary tract and bladder infections.
How much water to drink while pregnant
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Institute of Medicine recommend that pregnant women drink on average about 10 8-ounce cups of water or other beverages each day, although this target isn’t an exact science.
Your needs may vary based on your activity levels, your size, and the weather. For example, you're likely to need more fluid than usual when it’s hot outside or if you're exercising.
The best way to tell if you’re getting enough water: Your urine should look pale yellow or colorless, and you should feel thirsty only occasionally.
Plain water is the ideal beverage, but milk, juice, coffee, and tea are all hydrating and count toward your fluid intake. Fruits and vegetables with high water content – like watermelon, cucumber, and even iceberg lettuce – also support your overall water intake.
Keep in mind that juice is full of sugar and extra calories, so you don't want to rely on it too much. Also limit caffeine in coffee, tea, and sodas. ACOG advises pregnant women to get no more than 200 milligrams of caffeine (or about one 12-ounce cup of coffee) per day.
First trimester
Your water needs increase with pregnancy, so you may not have to think too much about how much water you drink very early on.
That said, you will need to keep a careful eye on your water intake if morning sickness causes you to vomit. Your body loses both water and electrolytes when you throw up, which can quickly lead to dehydration, so sip on more fluids than usual throughout the day.
Also, be sure to let your doctor know if you can’t keep down fluids due to nausea and vomiting, or if it causes you to lose more than 5 percent of your pre-pregnancy weight. You could have hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition that may require hospitalization and IV infusions of fluids and electrolytes.
Second trimester
By the second trimester, nausea and vomiting will (hopefully) be behind you. That said, as your blood volume increases, so will your water requirements – after all, blood is more than three-quarters water.
While 10 cups of water might seem like a lofty goal, it’s doable if you sip throughout the day rather than chugging a lot at once when you’re thirsty (and possibly already a bit dehydrated). If you don't like the taste of water, try adding a lemon or lime wedge or a little juice for flavor.
Third trimester
Your blood volume reaches its peak at weeks 32 to 34 of pregnancy, increasing by 50 to 60 percent compared to its pre-conception levels. That makes it especially important to stay hydrated in the last trimester – especially since dehydration can cause Braxton Hicks contractions that are easy to confuse with real labor contractions.
While you probably don’t need to keep a water log, it’s a good idea to keep a water bottle at your side and drink before you feel thirsty.
Signs and symptoms of dehydration
It’s always good to know the signs of dehydration, so you can nip it in the bud (or seek medical attention if necessary). Symptoms of dehydration include:
- Extreme thirst
- Peeing less often
- Urine that looks dark yellow or straw-colored
- Fatigue, confusion, or dizziness
Call your doctor if you’re concerned you might be severely dehydrated, especially if you:
- Can’t keep down fluids
- Are disoriented or very sleepy
- Have bloody or black bowel movements, or diarrhea that lasts for more than 24 hours
Learn more about your nutrition needs during pregnancy:
- Your pregnancy diet: the basics of eating well
- Pregnancy nutrients you need to help your baby grow
- 8 things your nutritionists wish you would do during pregnancy