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Taking good care of yourself during pregnancy helps ensure that you are taking good care of your baby. While you are pregnant, everything that you put into your body also goes into your baby's body. You should keep that in mind when making the decision of putting something into your body. Stay healthy by ending any harmful habits or addictions that you may have. Making healthy choices now will help give your baby a healthy beginning. As a general rule, the following foods and or substances should be avoided during pregnancy:
- Alcohol - Beer, wine, or hard liquor can seriously hurt your baby and do long-term damage. Alcohol has a direct toxic effect on the baby. It quickly crosses the placenta and enters the baby's blood in the same concentration as in the mother's blood. The degree of harm depends on the amount of alcohol consumed. Babies born to alcoholic mothers risk suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome, a number of disabilities that include physical and mental retardation, tremors, and peculiar facial characteristics. Lesser amounts of alcohol have been associated with low birth weights. It is uncertain what the effects of small amounts of alcohol may be on an unborn baby. It is, therefore, recommended that alcohol be entirely avoided during pregnancy.
- Tobacco - Cigarette smoke contains substances that are harmful to both you and your unborn baby. Studies show that pregnant women who smoke give birth to babies smaller than average size, have greater incidence of premature rupture of membranes, premature birth, miscarriages, placental abnormalities, stillbirths and bleeding during pregnancy. It is recommended that the mother quits smoking and avoids secondhand smoke during pregnancy.
- Drugs such as marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine, crack, and heroine - Using drugs of any kind while you are pregnant can endanger you and your baby. Severe damage can occur to the fetus' developing organs (i.e. brain, liver, heart, kidneys) if drugs are used during pregnancy. Drug use can also stunt fetal growth, bring on preterm labor, result in miscarriage, and can lead to social, emotional, and behavioral problems later in the child's life.
- Medications - Always check with your doctor before taking any prescribed or over-the-counter-medications while pregnant. Some medicines are safe to use, while others may have harmful effects on your baby. Medications cross the placenta and enter the baby's bloodstream. In some cases, a medication could cause birth defects, addiction, or other problems in the baby.
- Unpasteurized dairy foods and juices - Unpasteurized foods may harbor harmful bacteria. These bacteria could make you and your unborn baby extremely sick and may even be life threatening.
- Raw or undercooked meat, poultry, or eggs - These items should be avoided because of the risk of contamination with coliform bacteria or salmonella. These bacteria could cause complications with the pregnancy and even harm the fetus.
- Caffeine - Caffeine can cross the placenta and affect your baby's heart rate and breathing. Some studies suggest that drinking too much caffeine may be associated with a small decrease in birth weight or an increased risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Other studies haven't reported the same risks. Because of the unknowns, your health care provider may recommend avoiding caffeine during the first trimester and limiting the amount of caffeine you drink to less than 300 milligrams a day during the second and third trimesters.
- Certain types of fish and shellfish - Avoid eating fish from contaminated lakes and rivers that may be exposed to high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls and mercury. These fish include bluefish, striped bass, salmon, pike, trout, walleye, shark, swordfish, and tilefish. Mercury consumed during pregnancy has been linked to developmental delays and brain damage.
- Deli meats - Deli meats have been known to be contaminated with listeria, which can cause miscarriage. Listeria has the ability to cross the placenta and may infect the baby leading to infection or blood poisoning, which may be life threatening. If you are pregnant and considering eating deli meats, make certain that you reheat the meat until it is steaming.
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