Should Pregnant People Completely Stop Drinking Alcohol
There is no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy. It is safest to drink none at all.
Alcohol in the blood passes to the fetus via the umbilical cord, and too much exposure to alcohol can seriously undermine fetal development.
Also, there is a risk that the baby will develop a . This can result in vision or hearing problems, issues with attention, and low body weight, among other complications.
Make Healthy Drink Choices
It is important to drink plenty of water while youre pregnant.
Water can:
The amount of iron absorbed by your body decreases if you:
- drink coffee or tea with meals
- take calcium supplements or calcium-containing antacids with meals
To avoid decreasing the amount of iron your body absorbs, wait 1 to 2 hours after a meal to:
- drink tea or coffee
- take calcium supplements
Healthy Start Vouchers For Pregnant Women
You may qualify for the Healthy Start scheme, which provides vouchers to pregnant women and families who qualify. The vouchers can be used to buy milk and plain fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables at local shops. You’ll also get coupons that can be exchanged for free vitamins locally.
For more information or to apply for the vouchers, you can:
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The Best Pregnancy Workout App: Aaptiv
Free with in-app purchases for iPhone and Android
Aaptiv offers unlimited access to tons of prenatal workouts led by certified personal trainers and organized by trimester. Pick classes or programs that work for your fitness goals and change them up based on how youre feeling.
Bonus: The gentle postnatal workouts are perfect for easing back into exercise after your baby is born.
Take A Daily Multivitamin
You need more nutrients when you are pregnant. In addition to eating a variety of healthy foods, a multivitamin can help make sure you get enough of these nutrients.
You need a multivitamin with 0.4 mg folic acid everyday if you:
- are pregnant
- could become pregnant
This can reduce the risk of your baby developing a neural tube defect.
While you are pregnant, make sure your daily multivitamin also contains 16 to 20 mg of iron.
A health care provider can help you find the multivitamin that is right for you.
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Foods To Avoid In Pregnancy
When you’re pregnant, everything that goes into your mouth gets shared with your growing baby. Even though some types of foods and even some types of food poisoning may not hurt you, they may harm your little one.
To avoid food poisoning, be careful not to eat any food left out of the refrigerator for more than two hours .
Be sure to limit caffeine to 200 mg a day . And, as you probably know, forget alcohol while your baby is growing inside you.
To stay safe, also avoid these foods during your pregnancy.
Meats
- Cold cuts, deli meats, hot dogs, and other ready-to-eat meats.
- Pre-stuffed, fresh, turkey or chicken
- Steak tartare or any raw meat
- Rare cuts of meat and undercooked meats
- Refrigerated pates or meat spreads.
Fish
- Locally caught bluefish, pike, salmon, striped bass, trout, and walleye
- King mackerel, shark, swordfish, and tilefish, which have high levels of mercury
- Smoked cod, smoked salmon or lox, smoked mackerel, smoked trout, smoked tuna, and smoked whitefish, or other smoked fish
- Sushi or any raw fish or raw shellfish
Eggs
- Raw eggs
- Raw cookie dough.
- Caesar salad dressing, bearnaise sauce, hollandaise sauce, mayonnaise, and any homemade dressings and sauces made with raw eggs
- Mousse, meringue, tiramisu, and any homemade desserts made with raw eggs
Milk and Cheese
- Unpasteurized milk
- Any cheese made from unpasteurized milk.
Fruits and Veggies
Benefits Of Using A Pregnancy App
You bought the books, took the pamphlets home from the doctors office, and printed out every possible checklist and chart you could find on the internet, and now, youre left staring at a massive pile of stuff.
If that sounds familiar, youre not alone. Parents-to-be are eager for information about the next nine months, in any form they can get it. Thats why its not uncommon to see every pregnancy-related publication stacked a mile high on the nightstand or kitchen table of an expecting mom or dad.
Unfortunately, sifting through all of that paper takes time. And more than likely, time is and will continue to be, in short supply. The good news? There is a simple solution to your current situation, and its called a pregnancy app.
Pregnancy apps give you the freedom and ease to keep tabs on everything related to the health and wellbeing of your baby-to-be.
From medical appointments and fetal growth to tracking your contractions on d-day, a pregnancy app can help take the guesswork out of your most burning questions and concerns.
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What To Expect Pregnancy App
Following in the footsteps of the hugely popular book, the What to Expect pregnancy app for Android and iOS is designed to provide you one location to keep all of your baby bump information.
Plus, the app is packed full of useful tips on every pregnancy topic you can imagine. Log on to find out info about where you are in your pregnancy or watch videos about how your body is going to change over the course of nine months.
Regardless of where youre at on the pregnancy knowledge continuum, theres a good chance you will find some valuable tidbits in this comprehensive app.
The Best Pregnancy Diet App: Baby2body
Free with in-app purchases for iPhone and Android
Find easy, delicious recipes designed to meet your changing nutritional needs, plus smart tips to help you make healthy choices. And since its an all-in-one wellness app, youll also get access to tailored prenatal workouts, guided meditations, and even pregnancy skin care tips.
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The Best App For Staying Centered: Positive Pregnancy
$2.99 for iPhone
Got a lot on your mind these days? Being pregnant is super exciting, but were not gonna lie, its totally normal to have some ups and downs.
Positive Pregnancy offers guided meditations to help keep stress at bay. As a result, you might find you feel more relaxed during the day and maybe even sleep a little more soundly at night.
The Best App To Guide You Through Your Entire Pregnancy: The Bump
Free for iPhone and Android
Plug in your due date to keep tabs on exactly how big your baby is getting with cute comparisons .
Youll also get info on the changes happening for both you and your baby plus smart advice on how to prepare for them. The planner feature makes tracking your doctors appointments a cinch, and even has helpful questions to bring up at each visit.
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How Do Pregnancy Nutrition App Play A Role
In a normal setting, to get a nutrition plan for a pregnant lady, you will have to find the best dietitians then make an appointment with them. After that, you will have to go to their clinic to get the diet chart. Do you see? That is a lot of steps!
With an app for nutrition, you just have to sign up and enter your details. You will get a personalized diet chart instantly from qualified experts. There is a long list of customizations and changes. You get full support and you also do not have to travel anywhere. All you need is a smartphone. With apps, you generally get a very personalized experience.
One of the other factors to count on is your locality. There is a very high chance that the place where you live does not have expert dietitians for pregnant women. But with an app, you can get your diet and consultation anywhere. So why adjust for one of the most important phases of your life, right?
Sharing is Caring
+ Safe Workouts For Each Trimester
- “I absolutely love Back to Basics Pregnancy – Im so glad Lyndi and the team have developed it!”- Heather
- “The app is perfect! The recipes are so good.”- Victoria M
- “So so glad I got to use this in my pregnancy.”- Bec
- “With no pressure of a program or diet”- Julia C
- “I got so much benefit from the program.”- Saatchi S
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Is It Safe To Drink Herbal Tea
Because you want to keep your caffeine intake down, you may want to sip on a cup of herbal tea. However, there is little data on the effects certain herbs can have on a developing baby. This is why itâs best to play it safe and avoid herbal tea unless you get the OK from your healthcare provider. Check with your provider about those herbal teas marketed as safe for moms-to-be, too.
Glow Nurture Pregnancy App
If youre searching for an app that gives you the freedom to customize your experience, then check out the Glow Nurture pregnancy app. This app allows you to get insights and alerts based on the data you enter and specific feedback on your health and the health of your baby.
The community support that comes in the form of maternity advice, pregnancy tips, baby care, and so much more helps you feel connected and informed about shared experiences.
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Starchy Foods In Pregnancy
Starchy foods are an important source of energy, some vitamins and fibre, and help you to feel full without containing too many calories. They include bread, potatoes, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, maize, millet, oats, yams and cornmeal. If you are having chips, go for oven chips lower in fat and salt.
These foods should make up just over a 3rd of the food you eat. Instead of refined starchy food, choose wholegrain or higher-fibre options such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice or simply leaving the skins on potatoes.
Tracking Nutrients On Pregnancy Diet Apps
Tracking your nutrients on pregnancy diet apps like CareClinic is super simple. Work with your health care provider to see what amounts are recommended for you during your pregnancy. You can then track your intake of each nutrient throughout your day as you consume your meals and drinks. The app will provide you with daily, weekly and monthly totals of your intake.
Along with tracking your meals, the CareClinic app has a medicine and supplements tracker where you can easily keep track of any supplements you may be taking. This way you will always be able to readily access what your calcium intake has been for the day, meals and supplements included. You can set reminders for yourself when its time to take your supplement, so you never have to worry about forgetting.
Using a pregnancy diet app can be very helpful since being pregnant itself can be very overwhelming. You have millions of other things to worry about! The CareClinic app will let you know when its time to eat, drink water, take your supplements and what your intake levels are.
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Healthy Snacks During Pregnancy
Still looking for a way to get those extra calories? Snacks can do the trick. But this doesnt mean a candy bar or a bag of potato chips. Instead, stock up on cereal, nuts, fruit, and low-fat yogurt.
Adding those 500 extra calories in a healthy way can be as simple as eating:
- 25 almonds, low-salt or unsalted , with cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup mixed nuts, low -salt or unsalted , and 1 large orange
- 1½ cups small pasta shells with 1 cup cherry tomatoes , cup black beans , 2 tsp olive oil , and a splash of vinegar
Continued
For a smaller snack of about 300 to 350 calories, consider:
- 1½ cups oatmeal with 7 large strawberries and ½ cup blueberries
- 7 egg whites with 2 servings of salsa on 3 soft corn tortillas
- 2 cups low-fat yogurt and 1 large peach
It’s OK to enjoy a sweet or salty treat every now and then. But do it in moderation, just like you did before you were pregnant. Too much salt can make you retain water and raise your blood pressure, which isn’t good for you or your baby. And too many sweet foods will fill you up with empty calories, so youre less hungry for the nutritious foods that you and your baby need.
How Can I Get Enough Calcium If I’m Lactose Intolerant
Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk. If you are lactose intolerant, you may have cramping, gas, or diarrhea when dairy products are consumed.
If you are lactose intolerant, you can still receive the calcium you need. Here are some suggestions:
- Use Lactaid Milk fortified with calcium. Talk to your dietitian about other lactose-reduced products.
- You may be able to tolerate certain milk products that contain less sugar including cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese.
- Eat non-dairy calcium sources, including greens, broccoli, sardines, and tofu.
- Try consuming small amounts of milk with meals. Milk is better tolerated with food.
Continued
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What About Pregnancy Weight
Am I eating enough for my baby? Too much? Ive gained so much weight? Have my cravings gotten out of hand? You may be wondering about what weight gain should look like during your pregnancy. During a womans pregnancy, her calorie intake will grow. After all, you are growing life inside your womb! However, this does not mean that you are eating for two. That is a common misconception. Your calorie consumption only increases by a few hundred calories per day, on average.
Consult with your health care provider to see how much weight gain is healthy and recommended for you. Your pre-pregnancy weight and other factors will impact how much weight you are recommended to gain during your pregnancy.
With the CareClinic app, you will also be able to keep track of your weight along with other measurements so that you always know where you are in your progress. If you see that you are gaining weight too quickly, or not gaining enough weight, then you can work with your health care practitioner to adjust your timeline accordingly. This will help make sure that both you and your baby stay healthy.
Nutrient Needs During Pregnancy
A person needs more water- and fat-soluble vitamins during pregnancy and lactation. This includes folate, choline, and vitamins B12, A, and D, among others.
Doctors
To help prevent illnesses and other complications during a pregnancy, avoid:
- Seafood that contains mercury: Avoid shark, swordfish, and marlin, or keep the intake to an absolute minimum.
- Uncooked or partially cooked meats: Opt for thoroughly cooked meats.
- Uncooked shellfish: This is due to a risk of bacterial or viral contamination, which can cause food poisoning.
- Raw eggs: Avoid these and any foods that contain them.
- Soft, mold-ripened cheese: Cheeses such as brie and camembert carry a risk of Listeria contamination. Listeria is a group of bacteria that can cause potentially fatal infections in pregnant people and their babies.
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Whats The Best Pregnancy App Overall
The best pregnancy tracking app overall is the one you find the most useful, informative and engaging. While some apps are more geared toward medical advice with realistic imaging, others rely on lighter cartoons and produce comparisons to inform you about your pregnancy.
Information provided on Forbes Health is for educational purposes only. Your health and wellness is unique to you, and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer individual medical advice, diagnosis or treatment plans. For personal advice, please consult with a medical professional.
Forbes Health adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the authors alone and have not been provided, approved or otherwise endorsed by our advertisers.
Tracking Your Pregnancy Symptoms
Your body goes through tremendous changes during your pregnancy, and you will experience many symptoms as a result of it. Symptoms will begin to appear 12-13 days after conception, check out our articles or 12 DPO and 13 DPO to see what you will experience early on. CareClinic has a symptom tracker where you can log any symptoms you experience. Keep track of the time, the severity and even make a quick note of exactly what went on. You can then share this information with your health care provider, midwife, partner or family. Track your morning sickness and over time you will be able to distinguish what helps you feel better so that you focus on that the next time you experience it.
You can even make note of your cravings. Food cravings are totally common, and many pregnant women develop strong urges or dislikes towards certain foods. Common cravings can be sweets, salty foods or red meat. Cravings can be your bodys way to letting you know that it needs a certain nutrient or liquids to help quench a thirst or you are running low. Keep track of your cravings so you know what you may be lacking in your diet and you can adjust accordingly.
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Foods To Avoid In Your Pregnancy Diet Plan
While there are many foods, as you read above, to include in your pregnancy diet plan, there are many foods to avoid as well. Some foods may be harmful to both you and your growing baby. They may contain bacteria or chemicals that can be passed onto your baby or make you sick. These foods should be avoided until after you give birth.
Raw meat and seafood raw, rare or undercooked meats, poultry, fish or eggs can carry bacteria such as E. coli or salmonella. Make sure your meat, fish and eggs are cooked thoroughly to avoid any risk of bacteria making you sick or passing onto your baby.
Fish with high levels of mercury some seafood such as shark, swordfish and marlin should be avoided because they contain high levels of mercury. Mercury is a toxic chemical that can pass through the blood to the unborn baby and can be harmful to the developing brain, nervous system and kidneys.
Unpasteurized foods can lead to food poisoning and infection which can result in miscarriage, premature labor, or infection in newborns. Avoid unpasteurized milk and its byproducts such as soft chesses, Brie, feta, blue-veined cheese, etc. Deli meats and cold cuts should be avoided, unless you warm them up to kill any bacteria. Any meat spreads or pates should also be avoided until after giving birth.
