A healthy pregnancy in ten easy steps…
There's so much advice out there on what to do - and what you most definitely shouldn't do - when you're pregnant. But follow the ten simple steps below and you won't go far wrong.
1. Take folic acid
Although folic acid is found naturally in foods such as liver, leafy green vegetables and wholewheat bread, the government still recommends that all women thinking about having a baby should start taking folic acid supplements three months before trying to conceive, and for three months after falling pregnant. Folic acid, a B vitamin, helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. Your doctor can prescribe them to you, or they are sold at most pharmacies. They usually come in 400 microgram capsules which should be taken once a day, or if you don’t like taking tablets, a folic acid milk drink is also available.
2. Eat well
While you are pregnant your immune system functions at a slightly lower level than normal, so you can be at risk from infections passed on through food.
Cheese - some cheese carries the risk of listeria, a bacteria that can cause serious problems for the mother and baby.
Avoid: Ripened soft cheeses like brie or camembert and blue-veined cheeses such as stilton. They can be eaten if they’ve been thoroughly cooked. Also avoid cheese from unpasturised sheep or goat’s milk.
You can eat
Hard cheeses such as cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella, gruyere and soft processed cheeses like cottage cheese, cream cheese and cheese spreads.
Fish can contain high levels of mercury, which can affect the development of a baby’s nervous system.
Avoid: shark, swordfish and marlin. Limit your consumption of tuna to one fresh steak, or two cans a week, and avoid raw fish like sushi.
You can eat: cod, plaice, haddock and oily fish like mackerel
Shellfish carries a risk of bacteria that can cause food poisoning – which can put you and your baby at risk.
Avoid: raw or undercooked shellfish like oysters, mussels, cold prawns and crab.
You can eat: cooked shellfish
Milk can carry the risk of listeria, or toxoplasmosis
Avoid: green top milk and unpasteurized sheep and goat’s milk unless it has been boiled for two minutes.
You can drink: pasteurized, sterilized and UHT milk.
Eggs can carry the risk of salmonella
Avoid: raw or runny eggs, mayonnaise made with raw egg (shop bought mayonnaise is fine but restaurants often make homemade mayonnaise with raw egg, so always ask first) and mousses made with raw egg.
You can eat: well-cooked eggs (so that the egg-white and yolk are solid), commercially-prepared mayonnaise and salad cream.
Ice-cream can carry the risk of listeria.
Avoid: homemade ice-cream or soft-whipped ice-cream from machines.
You can eat: ice-cream from cartons.
Meat can carry a risk of toxoplasmosis, listeria and salmonella if it hasn’t been cooked properly.
Avoid: Raw or undercooked meat (ask for your steaks well-done for the next nine months and avoid parma ham) and ready-cooked poultry unless it has been thoroughly reheated.
You can eat: Meat and poultry that has been cooked thoroughly all the way through.
Liver can contain high-levels of the retinol form of vitamin A, which can be harmful to your developing baby.
Avoid: Liver, or liver products such as liver sausage and pate. Some fish oil supplements can contain liver of fish, so check the ingredients first.
Salads can carry the risk of listeria or toxoplasmosis if they haven’t been washed properly.
Avoid: packaged salads, unless you wash them first. Ready-prepared dressed salads like coleslaw or potato salad.
You can eat: any salad that has been properly washed.
Cooked-chilled foods can carry the risk of listeria.
Avoid: unheated cooked-chilled foods.
You can eat: cooked-chilled foods that have been thoroughly heated all the way through.
Peanuts can be dangerous if you or your partner’s family has a history of peanut or other allergies, asthma, eczema or hayfever.
Avoid: eating peanuts, or peanut products (Satay chicken for example) during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
You can eat: other types of nut, including Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts or cashew nuts, have not been identified as a potential problem.
If you find that you have accidentally eaten the wrong thing, don’t panic, the risks are small, but it is best to avoid these foods while pregnant.
3. Cut out Caffeine
Caffeine has been associated with the risk of miscarriage and hindering the development of babies in the womb. The government’s advice is to limit your caffeine consumption to 300 mg a day (roughly three mugs of coffee, six cups of tea or eight cans of cola).
Avoid: drinking too much caffeine, but a small amount is fine. Remember caffeine can also be found in energy drinks and chocolate.
4. Cut out alcohol
Alcohol can be one of the hardest things to give up in early pregnancy. Some women find they cannot stand the smell or taste of it once they are pregnant, which makes it easier. In the past experts agreed that a small amount of alcohol in pregnancy was fine, but current information advocates women avoiding alcohol altogether during pregnancy.
There is no doubt that heavily drinking in pregnancy can cause severe abnormalities in babies, and alcoholic mothers put their babies at risk of foetal alcohol syndrome. If you are worried, it might be best to avoid alcohol altogether. At first it may seem strange to go out and not drink, because it was only a few weeks ago that you were enjoying a glass of wine. After a few months you’ll be used to not drinking, and you will probably feel better for it.
Watch our guide What food to avoid in pregnancy for advice from midwife Tania Pearce.
5. Don’t smoke or let anyone around you smoke
Smoking is one of the most damaging things you can do to your unborn child, and the risks are huge. Smoking has been linked to miscarriage, stillbirths, a low birth-weight, damage to the placenta and a higher risk of fetal abnormalities. If your partner smokes he is compromising your baby’s health through passive smoking. It is essential that you stop smoking even before you fall pregnant, as smoking can cause men to experience a low sperm count. If you need help quitting visit www.givingupsmoking.co.uk or phone the NHS smoking helpline on 0800 169 9169.
6.Exercise gently
Exercising during pregnancy is important for your health, your stress levels and for your growing pregnant body, but make sure you stick to safe gentle exercises that put minimum strain on your body. See Exercises recommended through pregnancy below.
Watch Ways of exercising in pregnancy for more advice and just as important, read our article on Exercises to avoid in pregnancy.
7. Slow down
Although you may feel completely normal, your body is going through one of the biggest events it will ever have to deal with so make sure you take time to slow things down. Don’t try to cram extra time in at work because you feel guilty about time off for maternity leave. Accept that on days when you feel rough, tired or nauseous, it’s ok to ask for help or have a lie down. If you have a boisterous two-year-old to look after, lean on a few relatives to take care of him or her while you have some time-out.
8. Sleep
Lie-in till 2pm, have early nights and long baths… Try to get at least eight hours sleep a night, because once your baby arrives your sleep pattern will be disrupted by broken nights and early starts and sleeping through the night or having a lie-in will seem like a distant memory! If you can, take a little nap in the afternoon and remember to lie down on your left side, if it is comfortable, to relieve the major blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby.
9. Change your shoes
Stiletto lovers don’t despair – you will get into your heels again, but for the next nine months it is probably best to stick to comfortable non-restricting shoes. In pregnancy your ankles, feet and legs can swell slightly so anything restricting will make them worse. Try to put your legs up (even on a box under your desk) a few times a day. If your legs, ankles or toes excessively swell make an appointment with your GP as this could be a sign of pre-eclampsia.
10. Look after YOU
This might mean doing pregnancy yoga, going to a spa for a bit of pampering or buying a special maternity outfit, anything which helps you to nourish your mental wellbeing. Why not book a weekend away for you and your partner in a luxury hotel before the baby comes. Your partner may be feeling apprehensive about the impending birth and a weekend away will do you both good.
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Last Modified: 10/07/2008