Planning for the Health of Your Baby

1.      If you have cats, please do not change the litter box. Let another family member do this job. Keep cats out of your face. Use good hygiene after petting any cat. Wear gloves when you garden if you have stray or neighborhood cats.  http://www.otispregnancy.org/pdf/toxoplasmosis.pdf

2.      Use good hygiene when cooking and handling raw meats, especially pork, lamb or venison. Wash your hands and counter tops with warm, soapy water. Cook all meats thoroughly.  Heat luncheon meats, cold cuts and other deli meats until steaming hot.  Do not eat unpasteurized milk or soft cheeses or refrigerated smoked seafood.  http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~pregnant/pregnant.html

3.      Limit your caffeine intake to one or two servings per day. This includes coffee, soft drinks, tea, chocolate and chocolate milk.

4.      The artificial sweetener named Splenda is okay to use. Yet, please limit intake of other artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, Nutrasweet, or saccharin to 1-2 servings per day. They are found in diet drinks, some “sugar-free” or “low-fat” yogurts, flavored low calorie waters, and chewing gum.

5.      Avoid Jacuzzis, hot tubs or hot baths. Keep the water temperature at 100 degrees or less when taking a bath. You may want to monitor this by checking the thermostat on your hot water heater.

6.      Hair treatments such as perms, hair color, and relaxers are okay after 12 weeks of pregnancy, or your first trimester.

7.      You should drink eight to ten 8oz. glasses of water per day. This will help with headaches, constipation, fatigue, dizziness, fluid retention, bladder infections and muscle irritability.

8.      Take your prenatal vitamins daily, preferably at bedtime. You may choose to take them with a snack, as this seems to help prevent nausea.

9.      Eat regular, nutritious meals. You should get three servings of calcium per day. Good sources include milk and dairy products, broccoli, green, leafy vegetables, nuts and calcium fortified orange juice. Also, two Tums tablets equal one serving of calcium.

10.  Due to potential mercury contamination, you should avoid eating any shark, sushi or any raw fish, king mackerel, tilefish or swordfish. You may eat up to 12 oz. per week of a variety of fish and shellfish. Albacore (white tuna) has more mercury, therefore limit to one 6 oz. serving a week. Check local advisories about the safety of locally caught fish. If no advice is available, please limit your fish intake to 6 oz. that week.  http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html

11.  Exercise for thirty minutes a day, three to four times per week. Brisk walking, swimming, walking on a treadmill, and riding a stationary bike are good activities. You can continue your current regimen yet do not start any new exercises. Avoid leg, lifts, sit-ups, or crunches. Maintain a heart rate of less than 140 beats per minute. Do not lift more than 25 pounds. Refer to your pregnancy reference book for low back exercises.