It is very important to maintain a healthy and nutritious diet  if you are pregnant, or planning a pregnancy. Your baby relies on you to be given a balance of nutrients in order to grow and develop properly. If you are breastfeeding it is really important to include a wide variety of fresh, healthy foods in your diet too.

Eating a healthy, varied diet will provide you with most of the vitamins and minerals you need, but during pregnancy you also need to take a folic acid supplement too. It is also recommended that you take a daily vitamin D supplement as well. This is especially important in the winter months (October - March) when there is not enough sunlight exposure.

If you meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme you will be sent vouchers which can be used in over 30,000 shops throughout the UK. These vouchers can be exchanged for essential fruit, vegetables, milk and formula milk. 

In addition to the vouchers, you can also receive coupons to exchange for:

• Vitamins during pregnancy 

• Vitamins whilst breastfeeding 

• Vitamins for children aged six months and up to five years old

To search for a retailer in your area that will accept the vouchers and coupons visit www.healthystart.nhs.uk to use the healthy start postcode tool. 

To qualify for the Healthy Start scheme you will need to be either:

• At least ten weeks pregnant, or

• Have at least one child under the age of four

In addition to this, you must be in receipt of at least one of the following:

• Income Support

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

• Child Tax Credit (if your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less only)

• Universal Credit (but only if your family earns £408 or less per month from their employment)

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Working Tax Credit (but only if your family is receiving the four week ‘run-on’ payment) 

You will also qualify for the Healthy Start scheme if you are pregnant and under the age of 18, even if you do not receive any benefits.

If you meet the eligibility criteria you will receive vouchers worth £3.10 each to spend on:

• Milk

• Fresh fruit and vegetables

• Plain frozen fruit and vegetables

• Infant formula
  
  

You will receive one voucher per week if:

• You are pregnant

• You have a child aged between one and four

You will receive two vouchers per week if:

• you have a child under the age of one

You can also receive green coupons to exchange for free vitamin supplements. Your midwife or health visitor can advise you as to where to go to exchange your coupons locally. 

There is a good selection of foods you can purchase with your vouchers. 

Milk 

This must be plain cow’s milk only (whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed). It also needs to be pasteurised, sterilised, long-life or ultra-heat treated (UHT).

You will not be able to exchange your vouchers for flavoured milk, coloured milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk, goat’s milk, soya milk, powdered milk (unless it’s infant formula) or milk with anything added, for example milkshakes or vitamin-enriched milk.

Plain fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables 

You can obtain your vouchers for any plain fresh or frozen fruit or vegetables, whole or chopped, packaged or loose.

Fruit or vegetables not allowed will be those with added ingredients such as fat (oil), salt, sugar or flavourings. This includes oven chips and battered onion rings. You also can’t exchange them for dried, canned, juiced or pre-cooked fruit and vegetables or on smoothies.

Infant formula milk 

Healthy Start vouchers can only be used to buy nutritionally complete stage one formula and it must be suitable from birth. This means the vouchers cannot be exchanged for follow-on formula.

You are not permitted to exchange your vouchers for infant formulas that are not based on cow’s milk, for example soya formulas and goat’s milk formulas – or on any follow-on formulas that say on the packaging that they are for babies aged six months or older.

You can complete an application for Healthy Start vouchers by filling in the online form and printing it out. Visit: www.healthystart.nhs.uk 

Alternatively you can download the form directly from their website.

You’ll need to get your midwife, health visitor or registered doctor or nurse to sign it before returning it to:

Freepost RRTR-SYAE-JKCR 

Healthy Start Issuing Unit 

PO Box 1067 

Warrington 

WA55 1EG 

You can also pick up an application form from your midwife or ‘health visitor’, or by phoning the Healthy Start helpline.

Healthy Start helpline

T: 0345 607 6823 

Find out about call charges