During pregnancy, what you eat directly affects the health and growth of the baby. So, you must be very careful as to what goes into your system. Having a healthy diet helps a lot with having a safe and healthy pregnancy and child birth. And not just what you eat but also your lifestyle habits like what you drink and your physical activeness also affects the health of your baby. The child’s future growth also depends on the kind of nutrition it gets during pregnancy. With all the things that you must have, there are certain things to be avoided as well during pregnancy. Here is a list of 8 do’s and don’ts that you must follow for better growth and health of the child and yourself.

The Do’s

  1. Do stack up on fruits and vegetables – Fruits and vegetables are an essential source of vital minerals, vitamins and fibre. Include a rainbow of foods in your daily diet. That way, you get to taste different kind of foods and at the same time you and your baby are provided with all the different kinds of nutrients essential for a healthy growth and development.
  2. Do eat food containing Omega-3 fatty acids – Increases intake of Omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy may have several benefits. It helps a lot in better brain development. It has been found by researchers that babies born to mothers who had healthy intake of Omega-3, turn out to be smarter than average. Seafood, especially fishes are a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids.
  3. Do drink ample amount of fluids – drink a lot of nourishing fluids, such as water and fresh fruit juices. Not only does it prevents constipation but is also important to convey all the essential nutrients and oxygen to the baby more efficiently. Always carry a bottle of water or health drink with you and take small sips every now and then.
  4. Do take your prenatal vitamins – Prenatal vitamins contains all the essential minerals and vitamins essential for the healthy growth and development of foetus. During pregnancy, your body’s requirements of for iron, calcium and folic acid increases. And prenatal vitamins are important to make sure you get all of them in sufficient quantity.

The Don’ts

  1. Don’t consume alcohol- Drinking alcohol during pregnancy has been proved to have a lot of serious health, birth and developmental problems on the infant. It can cause premature birth, abnormality in new born baby, brain damage, stillbirth or miscarriage. No amount of alcohol has been proven to be safe to drink during pregnancy.
  2. Don’t eat uncooked or under cooked meat – Raw meat and uncooked seafood should be avoided completely. It may cause food poisoning and may also carry diseases such as salmonella and toxoplasmosis.
  3. Don’t eat deli meat – Deli meat such as salami, sausages and meat loaves are known to be contaminated with Listeria that can cause miscarriage. Pregnant women are more susceptible this disease as compared to others.
  4. Don’t consume unpasteurized milk products – Unpasteurized milk and milk products also contain listeria. So make sure that any milk products that you consume is pasteurized.