Pregnancy: Healthy Pregnancy Choices

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Healthy Pregnancy Choices

Make healthy lifestyle choices before, during, and after your pregnancy.

• Prepare for pregnancy by eating well and taking a daily prenatal vitamin, exercising regularly, getting necessary dental work out of the way, charting your menstrual cycle, avoiding or limiting caffeine, and stopping use of any potentially harmful medications or illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
• Maintain a healthy pregnancy by eating well, exercising regularly, getting plenty of rest, and avoiding high temperatures and activities that could lead to a fall or abdominal injury, including contact sports.
• Do pelvic floor (Kegel) exercises during and after pregnancy. They strengthen your lower pelvic muscles. This may help prevent a long period of pushing during labor.⁹ They also may help prevent urine control problems (incontinence) after childbirth.
• Take childbirth education classes to learn what to expect and how to best handle labor and delivery.
• Plan ahead for breast-feeding by learning about breast-feeding and finding a good lactation consultant ahead of time, buying necessary supplies, and making advance arrangements for a private place to pump if you plan to work away from your baby after a maternity leave. For more information, see the topic Breast-Feeding.

Exercise tips

Exercise safely during pregnancy for at least 30 minutes on most, if not all, days of the week. See the following illustrations of stretching and strengthening exercises that are well-suited to pregnancy:

• Back press
• Backward stretch
• Diagonal curl
• Forward bend
• Leg lift crawl
• Pelvic rocking
• Pelvic tilt
• Tailor press
• Tailor sitting
• Tailor stretching
• Trunk twist
• Upper body bends

Nutrition tips

• Strive for proper nutrition and weight gain during pregnancy. Pay close attention to your folic acid, iron, and calcium intake and the need for slow, gradual weight gain.
• A vegetarian diet during pregnancy and breast-feeding requires special attention to getting enough protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc, in addition to the extra folic acid, iron, and calcium that all expectant mothers need. These nutrients are vital to your fetus's cellular growth, brain and organ development, and weight gain.
• Calcium is an important nutrient, especially during pregnancy. If you can't or don't eat dairy products, you can get calcium in your diet from nonmilk sources such as tofu, broccoli, fortified orange juice or soy milk, greens, and almonds.
• Getting enough vitamin C may help protect against premature rupture of membranes, according to one study.¹⁰ Vitamin C is important for keeping the membranes around the fetus strong and healthy. You can get enough vitamin C by taking your daily prenatal vitamin and eating fruits and vegetables. Common foods that have high vitamin C content include citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, berries, broccoli, cabbage, and brussels sprouts.

What to avoid

• Drug use and medications that are not approved by your health professional (for example, NSAID use during conception and early pregnancy, which may increase the risk of miscarriage¹)
• Papaya, when at all unripe, because it can cause the muscles of the uterus to contract.¹¹ Contractions of the uterus can lead to a miscarriage.
• Caffeine. Or limit your intake to 1 cup of coffee or tea each day.
• Alcohol
• Tobacco smoke
• Hot tubs and saunas
• Sources of toxoplasmosis infection, including raw meat, poultry, or seafood; unwashed fruits or vegetables; and cat feces or outdoor soil that cats commonly use
• Fish that may contain mercury, such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, more than of white albacore tuna per week, or fish caught in local waters that haven't tested as safe
• Hazardous chemicals, radiation, and certain cosmetic products

Last updated:	November 30, 2006
Author:	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH
Reviewed By:	Renée M. Crichlow, MD - Family Medicine, Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman, MATC