How to Eat Safe While Pregnant

Proper nutrition and eating habits are crucial for the development of a healthy baby. Most doctors prescribe multivitamins for pregnant women, but just taking those and hoping for the best is not enough. There are certain foods that pregnant women should eat just once in awhile, and even some that a mom-to-be shouldn't eat at all.

Instructions

1. Take the prenatal vitamins that your doctor gave you and follow the directions for taking them. Some must be taken during or after breakfast.

2. Eat these foods in these amounts: vegetables, 3 to 5 servings a day; fruits, 2 to 3 servings; breads and whole grains with every meal; dairy, 3 to 4 servings a day; fish, eggs, and poultry, 1 to 2 servings; beans and nuts, 1 to 3 servings; oils, a small amount with every meal; liquids, 8 glasses including water, soups, low fat milk, 100% juices, and occasionally coffee or tea. Stay away from sugared drinks and diet sodas.

3. Eat the following foods as rare treats: red meat, white potatoes, butter, sweets, white bread, white pastas, and sodas, diet or otherwise.

4. Limit the foods that are high in salt and sodium. This includes chips, fast foods, processed foods, and lunch meats, and almost all canned foods. Eat fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables instead of canned.

5. Do not eat these varieties of fish: swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and tile fish. Be wary of fish caught by family or friends from local rivers and lakes or ponds. If you do eat them, have no more than about 6 ounces a week. Check with a health department about the safety of fish caught locally. There could be chemicals that are now outlawed but that have leached into the fish from the environment. Tuna should be "light" tuna; avoid "white" tuna.

Tips & Warnings

• It is safe to eat 2 servings a week of shrimp, farmed trout, catfish, salmon, flounder, haddock, and fish sticks or fillets.

• Listeriosis is a serious disease for a pregnant woman. It can come from uncooked or unclean foods. To avoid this, make sure all food is properly cooked. Hot dogs and lunch meat, or any processed meat, must be heated till steaming hot before being eaten. Soft cheeses may carry listeria, so stay away from soft Mexican cheese, feta, cheese with blue veins, and Camembert. Cheddar, mozzarella, cream cheese, and cottage cheese do not carry listeria. Do not drink unpasteurized milk.

• Drink no alcohol and restrict caffeine.