How You Can Help Protect Your Baby

When you’re expecting a baby, what you eat and drink, the environment you live and work in, and your overall health can affect the life inside of you.

Follow the guidelines below—and let your partner know about them, too—for a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy:

Your Diet During Pregnancy

Eat Wisely and Well

Research suggests that the quality of a mother’s nutrition during her pregnancy may have a lifelong impact on her baby’s overall health

Eat a lot of dark, leafy green vegetables (spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, etc.)—your best source of the folic acid that is so key to healthy fetal development. Snack on healthy foods such as fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts. Limit foods high in sugar and carbohydrates (including juice and soda).

Avoid raw or undercooked meats and seafood, as well as foods made from unpasteurized milk (including many soft cheeses).

Drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

Take Your Daily Prenatal Multivitamin

Your prenatal multivitamin also contains folic acid. Research has found that pregnant women who take multivitamin supplements with folic acid lower their risk of having a low-birth-weight baby and birth defects, such as cleft palate.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Thyroid Association recommend that your daily prenatal multivitamin also contains 150 micrograms (µg) of iodine (or that you take a prenatal iodine supplement with this amount). Iodine is important to your thyroid levels. A deficiency could cause cognitive (thinking) and psychomotor (physical movements that require complex mental evaluation) development problems in your baby.

Tobacco, Alcohol and Coffee During Pregnancy

Do Not Smoke, and Avoid Others Who Do

Smoking raises the risk of ectopic pregnancy (when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus), miscarriage, stillbirth, premature labor and low birth weight. If you or someone you live with smokes, let us know. We can provide you with resources for quitting. Even if you’re already pregnant, quitting smoking can make a huge health difference.

Avoid All Alcoholic Beverages During Your Pregnancy

Despite what you may hear to the contrary, there is no definitive evidence that any amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy. Even small amounts can lead to low birth weight, behavior issues and cognitive delays in your baby.

If you didn’t know you were pregnant and had a drink or two, don’t obsess over it. Most likely, you have not caused your developing baby any harm. Just don’t assume that a drink or two going forward is safe.

Drink Caffeine in Moderation

The American College Of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now says that pregnant women can drink up to 200 milligrams (mg) of caffeine a day without worrying about risks of miscarriage or preterm birth.

• An 8-ounce cup of coffee has about 137 mg of caffeine
• 8 ounces of tea has about 48 mg
• 12 ounces of caffeinated soda has about 37 mg
• 12 ounces of hot cocoa has 8 to 12 mg

Health, Exercise and the Environment

To learn more about what you need to stay healthy during pregnancy, talk to a prenatal care provider.