How do I track iron, folate, calcium and DHA during pregnancy?
Pregnancy nutrition is less about eating more than about getting enough of a few specific nutrients. Avo turns every meal you log or scan into progress on iron, folate, calcium, DHA and protein, with targets that change by trimester.
Why weight is the wrong number to watch
The targets are specific
27 mg of iron, 600 µg of folate, 1,000 mg of calcium, 200 mg of DHA a day. Nobody can keep that running total in their head, and a calorie counter does not try.
You do not know what you are short of
Tiredness could be iron or could be pregnancy. Without a tally there is no way to see that iron has been at half target all week, which is what your midwife would want to know.
'Eat healthily' is not an instruction
The useful answer is specific: you are at 66% of today's iron, here are iron-rich meals, pair them with vitamin C. A tracker that stops at the percentage has done half the job.
How nutrient tracking works
Log or scan, and the rings fill
Scan a plate, scan a product or pick a food, and its nutrients join today's totals. The home screen shows calcium, protein, iron and DHA against your trimester's targets at a glance, with a nutrition focus for the one that needs attention.
The full picture, every nutrient
Today's nutrition breaks it down: energy and macros, then the pregnancy key nutrients, folate, iron, calcium, DHA, choline and iodine, each with the amount against the target.
Trends by week and month
Progress shows how many days you logged, your average coverage of each nutrient this week, daily trends per nutrient, and your water days, so a quiet shortfall becomes visible before it matters.
What feeds the tracker
Preguntas frecuentes
Which nutrients matter most in pregnancy?
The ones most guidance singles out are folate (folic acid), iron, calcium, DHA (an omega-3), protein, iodine and choline, plus enough water. Avo tracks all of these against targets that change by trimester, and shows the first five on the home screen.
How much iron, folate, calcium and DHA do you need when pregnant?
The targets Avo uses for a typical pregnancy are 27 mg of iron, 600 µg of folate, 1,000 mg of calcium and 200 mg of DHA a day, with protein rising by trimester. Your own targets may differ if your doctor or midwife has set them, and a supplement they recommend counts towards them.
Does Avo tell me what to eat if I am low on something?
Yes. The home screen's nutrition focus names the nutrient that needs attention and offers meals rich in it, and the week-by-week recommendations point at the nutrient that matters most that week, such as calcium for bone growth in the second trimester.
Do I have to weigh my food?
No. Scanning a plate estimates the portion from the photo; picking a food uses a typical serving you can adjust. The totals are a working estimate meant to show patterns, not laboratory figures.
Does the tracker replace a prenatal vitamin?
No. It shows what your food provides so you and your provider can see where a supplement is doing the work. Keep taking whatever your midwife or doctor has recommended; the app informs, it does not prescribe.
Is nutrient tracking free?
Logging foods and seeing today's nutrients is free. Premium, at $29.99 a year or $3.99 a week in the US, unlocks unlimited scanning, which is the fastest way to log, and the full recipe library.