10 Things Pregnant Women Should Avoid For A Healthy Pregnancy

10 Things Pregnant Women Should Avoid For A Healthy Pregnancy

Things to avoid during pregnancy include those that carry a risk of infection, such as undercooked or raw meat or fish, but you’ll want to limit your intake of caffeine and processed foods, too.

It’s essential to eat well during pregnancy to nourish both yourself and your unborn child. You may have to give up some of your favorite foods, such as sushi, coffee, or rare steak.

Here are 10 foods and things to avoid or minimize while pregnant:

1. Hot tubs and Saunas:

ACOG explains that hot tubs can cause hyperthermia, or abnormally high body temperature, which may lead to congenital abnormalities. This is predominantly a risk in the first trimester but may cause problems later in pregnancy as well.

While relaxing in hot water may sound like an effective way to ease pregnancy discomfort, experts recommend avoiding hot tubs and saunas.

Activities like hot yoga, exposure to extreme heat , dehydration may cause the body temperature to rise .

2. Alcohol

When a pregnant person drinks alcohol, the alcohol crosses the placenta and can affect the fetus. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy may cause fetal alcohol syndrome, which is a spectrum of conditions that may lead to the following health issues like physical abnormalities, seizures , poor growth, and developmental delays .

Researchers are unsure how much alcohol, if any, is safe to consume during pregnancy, so most doctors recommend that pregnant people avoid alcohol completely.

3. Unpasteurized food:

Calcium is very important for growing babies, but moms have to be careful how they get their calcium from dairy.

Raw milk isn’t recommended for expecting mothers since it’s unpasteurized. This means it hasn’t been heated to kill bacteria that could make you ill.

There’s a small chance that unpasteurised or soft ripened dairy products may contain Listeria bacteria. This can cause an infection called listeriosis.

Specifically, raw milk may contain the bacteria Listeria. It can lead to illness, miscarriage, even life-threatening consequences , or make your newborn baby very unwell.

Soft cheeses with a white coating on the outside have more moisture. This can make it easier for bacteria to grow.

Cooking cheese until it’s steaming hot kills bacteria, reducing the risk of listeriosis.

4. Herbal tea:

Most herbal teas should be avoided. Raspberry leaf, peppermint, ginger, and lemon balm tea are the only ones currently deemed as potentially safe.           However, women may benefit from avoiding the first two during their first trimester of pregnancy.

The effect of herbal remedies on pregnant women and unborn babies is unknown. There is no way of knowing how strong they are.

Herbal supplements and tea could also react with other medicine, which can cause health problems.

5. Too much caffeine

In the same way as alcohol, caffeine can cross the placenta and affect the fetus.

While much of the data regarding pregnancy and caffeine consumption is inconclusive, research suggests that it is best to limit the intake of caffeine to 300 milligrams (mg) per day.

Some experts believe that quantities greater than this can be harmful to the fetus and may increase the risk of pregnancy loss and low birth weight.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that pregnant people consume no more than 200 mg of caffeine per day. This amounts to about 1.5 cups of coffee per day.

6. Unwashed vegetable:

The surface of unwashed or unpeeled fruits and vegetables may be contaminated with bacteria and parasites such as Toxoplasma, E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria. These can come from the soil or through handling.

Contamination can occur at any time during production, harvest, processing, storage, transportation, or retail.

Toxoplasma is a parasite that can linger on plant foods. Most people have no symptoms, but the parasite can cross the placenta and cause vision loss and learning difficulties later in life. In some cases, severe eye or brain damage may be present at birth.

To minimize the risk of infection, thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables with clean water and peel or cook them before eating.

7. Falls:

Falls that happen during the late second trimester and third trimester could be more harmful. That’s especially true if you fall onto your belly, or if you hit your belly on something as you fall. That kind of fall may cause contractions or the loss of amniotic fluid. The placenta also could separate from the inner wall of the uterus. That condition is called placental abruption. And blood cells from the fetus might go into your bloodstream. The medical term for that is fetomaternal hemorrhage.

If you fall during the first trimester or the early part of the second trimester, talk with your healthcare professional about it. Describe the fall and explain any symptoms you have. If you fall after about 23 weeks of pregnancy, contact your healthcare professional right away. You may need to go in for a checkup.

8. Contact sports and exercise:

If you were physically active before your pregnancy, you should be able to continue your activity with modifications as needed. But some exercises are not a good idea when you’re pregnant. Knowing the difference can help keep you and your growing baby safe.

If you have a medical problem, such as asthma, heart disease, or type 1 diabetes that is uncontrolled, exercise may not be advisable. Exercise may also be harmful if you have an obstetric condition such as , Bleeding or spotting , and a weak cervix.

Avoid aerobic exercise during pregnancy if you have , Hemodynamically significant heart disease , Restrictive lung disease ,Incompetent cervix/cerclage , Multiple gestation at risk for premature labor , and Persistent second- or third-trimester bleeding.

9. Raw sprouts:

Raw sprouts may be contaminated with bacteria. Only eat them thoroughly cooked. Fruits and vegetables may be contaminated with harmful bacteria, including Toxoplasma. It’s important to thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables with plenty of clean water.Raw or undercooked sprouts, such as alfalfa, clover, mung bean, and radish may contain E. coli or Salmonella. Cook sprouts thoroughly.

10. Smoking :

Smoking can damage your baby’s developing lungs and brain. The damage can last through childhood and into the teen years.It also doubles your risk of abnormal bleeding during pregnancy and delivery. This can put both you and your baby in danger. Your baby may be born too small, even after a full-term pregnancy. Smoking slows your baby’s growth before birth.

Your baby may be born too early (premature birth). Premature babies often have health problems.

Smoking raises your baby’s risk for birth defects, including cleft lip, cleft palate, or both. A cleft is an opening in your baby’s lip or in the roof of her mouth (palate).       He or she can have trouble eating properly and is likely to need surgery.

Babies of moms who smoke during pregnancy—and babies exposed to cigarette smoke after birth—have a higher risk for SIDS.