Dragonwolf wrote: »

You'll probably have to dig for them at this point, but there are a number of threads in the archives that discuss this topic.

Here are my thoughts:

Low carb in general is perfectly safe during pregnancy. In fact, it's still the go-to treatment of gestational diabetes.

Ketones are not, in my opinion, dangerous to the development of the fetus (though there is not much in the way of "official" research on this, because ethics). I draw that conclusion from the fact that many women suffer from various levels of morning sickness, which almost always results in the production of ketones in the mother's body. Additionally, the body will do whatever necessary to supply the proper nutrients to the fetus, including jeopardizing the long-term health of the mother (it's very common among western mothers to lose bone density and develop cavities from pregnancy, due to the demands for calcium, vitamin D, K2, and other nutrients vital to bone development and maintenance.

I've seen several anecdotes that pregnancy was all-around easier while low carb, very low carb, or even carnivore, than on other diets. Grain of salt, here, since all pregnancies are different in general (and I suspect that it depends more on the mother following the ideal diet for her), but I've little doubt that the greater availability and density of nutrients help keep hormones stabilized and prevents the triggers of the common pregnancy symptoms.

The hard part, though, may be maintaining the diet in the face of food aversions and super-nose. For example, in my last pregnancy, I could detect the milk going off a good three days before anyone else could. I also didn't touch hamburger in any form the entire time, because even the thought made me gag (first thing I ate after I gave birth, as soon as I could get my hands on it, was a burger).

Eat all the eggs. They're packed with all sorts of nutrients crucial to development -- choline, folate, cholesterol, saturated fat...

Drink lots of water. I personally found ice water (the colder, the better) to be great for my nausea.

If you're not comfortable with being very low carb, consider "falling back" to a Paleo/Primal way of eating. It focuses on meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds (and dairy, if Primal), and allows for more carbs, but from fruits and vegetables, so it's still nutrient dense, whole food sources, but can still be lower in carbs without issue.