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With pregnancy comes joy, yes, but also the curiosity to know everything about being healthy. The internet is a sea of information and help, but a mixed sea at that. There is plenty of information which is confusing and binding, as there are rules to follow, things to do and not to do, et al.
According to a study in Australia too much of information is leading pregnant women to ignore the basic care they need to take. This is basically because they are overwhelmed with the information and confused as to what to take and what to ignore.
The Australian Longitudinal Study covered 58,000 pregnant women of four age groups in 20 years, before coming to these conclusions.
Australian Longitudinal Study deputy director Deborah Loxton says that there is so much information given to women while they are pregnant.
“There are more rules and regulations and more recommendations than women have ever had before. Everything just goes in the bag or the folders. There’s nothing there that communicates what is the most important thing to do,” she adds.
The most common questions that pregnant women look at is whether to drink, smoke, and indulge in food. While some experts, like US Brown University health economist Emily Oster, say that having a couple of drinks a week in the first trimester, and up to one drink a day in the second and third trimester is not harmful, vodka shots are a big no no! This does beg the question as to what kind of drinking should be done.
The following are considered safer, but if you go by science, no-drinking is the best.
- half a pint of beer, lager or cider at 3.5% alcohol by volume (ABV: you can find this on the label)
- a single measure (25ml) of spirit, such as whisky, gin, rum or vodka, at 40% ABV
- half a standard (175ml) glass of wine at 11.5% ABV
Caffeine or coffee (and tea) is another drink which tops the charts of do-not-indulge. A San Francisco study of 1,000 women found that coffee did not affect the child or the mother when consumed not above an average of 50mg a day. However, there was an increased risk of miscarriage when women drank more than 200mg of coffee a day. Non-pregnant women can have 300mg a day (which is inclusive of tea), according to Health Canada.
The study has found that, about 80 percent of pregnant women drink alcohol, and about 30 percent of smokers continue smoking when pregnant.
The nicotine, carbon monoxide, and various other poisons from a cigarette are carried through the bloodstream and to the baby. It turns out that second-hand smoke is worse. The smoke that comes off at the end of a cigarette contains tar, carbon monoxide, nicotine, and other substances which are sure to burn your baby’s lungs too. In addition to that, miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight baby, and a line of complications follow.
Babies exposed to second-hand smoke may develop asthma, allergies, more frequent lung and ear infections, and are at a higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
The foods list could be a long one and a confusing one at that. The basic rule, however, is to avoid anything that adds fat to your body and your milk. Taking low-fat dairy products is acceptable. In addition to milk, which will help you strengthen your bones, having a load of proteins like legumes and lentils, in the diet is always recommended.
Blueberries for choice of fruits to fill your chart of vitamins and minerals, and oranges for anti-oxidants, are another good entry. While eggs have a ton of good stuff (vitamins and minerals), the only thing to watch out for is if they are cooked well. Exercises are another plus, but consulting your doctor would be the best thing to do. There are a plethora of exercises which can be done and should not be done at different stages of pregnancy. Your doctor can guide you the best.
Doing everything in moderate will be a great help, and indulging in anything would backfire. That should be the simple step to follow.
