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When I was expecting my first child, threats to my baby's health seemed to lurk everywhere. I knew, of course, that alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs of any kind were off-limits. But what about those lattes I'd chugged before I knew I was pregnant? Did I need to get rid of my beloved cats? What sort of environmental hazards was I unwittingly exposing my fetus to? Nine months of caffeine withdrawal, cat avoidance, and breath-holding-around-noxious-odors later, my strapping baby boy arrived.
Unlike me, you don't have to be paranoid when you're pregnant. "You can't put yourself in a glass bottle during pregnancyall you can do is avoid known risks," says Dr. Robert Resnik, a professor of reproductive medicine at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. Since some women, such as those with high blood pressure or gestational diabetes, need to take extra precautions, talk to your doctor about special circumstances that relate to you. Also steer clear of the following:
Too Much
Caffeine
For java junkies like me, the research on caffeine during
pregnancy has been maddeningly contradictory. Some
studies point to problems such as miscarriage and low
birth weight, while others show no such relationship. The
latest consensus is that only excessive amounts of
caffeine (more than 300 milligrams a day) are likely to
cause these problems, says Dr. Kathleen Bradley, a
maternal-fetal medicine specialist and assistant clinical
professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UCLA School
of Medicine. The caffeine content of different brews
varies, but you should be able to stay under the 300-milligram
mark by limiting your daily quaffing to one or two 5-ounce
cups of coffee or tea or a few 12-ounce cans of soda. (Since
even non-colas can pack quite a caffeine punch, check the
label before you imbibe.) And while chocolate does
contain caffeine, it typically has much less1 to 35
milligrams per one ouncethan coffee.
Cat Litter
Cat feces may play host to a parasite that causes
toxoplasmosis. The symptoms (fever, fatigue, and sore
throat) are similar to those of a garden-variety flu, but
the results (miscarriage, preterm labor, or serious
health problems in the newborn) can be devastating. Even
so, having a baby on board doesn't mean you need to send
your puss packing, says Marion McCartney, a certified
nurse-midwife and the director of professional services
at the American College of Nurse-Midwives in Washington,
D.C. It simply means you should put your mate on litter-box
duty for the nine-month duration. It's also a good idea
to wash your hands after heavy petting sessions with the
cat and after handling raw meat. Don't feed yourself or
the cat undercooked meat (which can harbor the parasite).
Wear gloves when you're gardening and avoid children's
sandboxes. (Roaming cats may use these as litter boxes.)
Certain
Foods
Beware, foodies: Uncooked, soft cheeses (such as feta,
Camembert, Brie, and blue-veined varieties),
unpasteurized milk and the foods made from it, and raw or
undercooked meats, fish, and poultry may contain listeria
bacteria. During pregnancy, listeriosis (symptoms include
fever, chills, diarrhea, and nausea) can cause
miscarriage, preterm labor, or stillbirth. Some seafood
may also contain high levels of mercury, PCBs, and other
toxins. If these foods are consumed during pregnancy, the
baby is put at risk for developmental delays. (Your local
health department may be able to tell you which fish to
avoid.) Experts recommend that expecting mothers limit
their servings of shark and swordfishwhich contain
higher levels of mercury than other fishto one
three-ounce serving a month. Finally, lab tests have
linked heavy consumption of saccharine to cancer. Though
you're not likely to swill enough of the artificial
sweetener to equal several times your body weight, you
may still want to forgo those little pink packets for now.
Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) appears to be a safe sugar
substitute.
Herbal
Remedies
You know that many prescription drugs are off-limits
during pregnancy, but the natural remedies you can pick
up at health-food stores are okay, aren't they? Guess
again: Herbal remedies can have a potent effect on your
bodyand your baby'scautions McCartney. Don't
take anything without running it by your health-care
provider first. She'll most likely tell you not to use
any during your first trimester. Throughout your
pregnancy, steer clear of goldenseal, mugwort, and
pennyroyal, all of which have been associated with
uterine contractions (which could possibly lead to
miscarriage or preterm labor); Asian ginseng (which
interferes with metabolism); and feverfew (though popular
for migraine headaches, it has unpredictable effects on
pregnant women). It's also wise to avoid herbal teas that
purport to have medicinal benefits.
Home Hazards
If you haven't been gripped by that famous pregnancy
cleaning-and-nesting frenzy, chances are you will be soon.
Safety tips for those 3 a.m. floor-scrubbing and nursery-decorating
sessions: Read labels carefully. Wear gloves and work in
well-ventilated areas. And avoid aerosols (which disperse
more chemicals into the air than pump bottles do), oven
cleaners, paint fumes, solvents, and furniture strippers.
Although frequent, heavy exposure to chemicals in the
workplace (home workshops count, too) has been linked to
birth defects, Bradley explains, home use of most
products is more likely to make you feel faint or
nauseousnot a great proposition when you're nine
months pregnant and perched high on a ladder or wedged
behind the toilet.
Overheating
Soaking in the hot tub or relaxing in a sauna may seem
like the perfect way to pamper your pregnant body, but
raising your core temperatureespecially during the
first trimestermay boost the odds of birth defects.
It's safe to soak in a lukewarm bath, though. Just make
sure that the temperature is not above 100 degrees and
that you get out after about ten minutes, Resnik advises.
Sustained exercise in very hot, humid weather can also
raise your core temperature. When you do exercise, be
sure to drink liquids before, during, and after, and if
you find that you're heating up, take a five- or ten-minute
breather.
Lead
Lead exposure has been linked to miscarriage, preterm
labor, low birth weight, and mental and behavioral
problems in children. Residue from the toxic metal can
lurk in places you might not suspect: houses built before
1978 (the year lead paint was banned), tap water, even
calcium supplements. A few precautions will reduce the
amount of lead you come into contact with: Call in a lead-abatement
specialist if you live in an older home with chipping or
peeling paint. (Whatever you do, don't try to sand or
scrape it off yourself.) Filtering your water may help,
or have your tap water tested. (Call the Environmental
Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791
for a testing lab in your area.) Finally, if you take a
calcium supplement, ask your doctor to recommend one
that's low in lead, such as Tums 500 Calcium Supplement.
Oral Sex
Don't worry, you needn't swear off oral gratification
entirely. (After all, when you hit that physically
awkward last trimester, there may not be much else you
can do between the sheets.) But when he's pleasuring you,
your mate should be careful not to blow air into your
vagina, if that's something that's part of his, uh,
repertoire. Why? Your blood vessels are dilated during
pregnancy, and, though the chances of this happening are
very rare, a fatal air bubble could potentially enter
your bloodstream, McCartney explains.
Certain Over-the-Counter
Drugs
Your back is aching, your heart is burning, and your
stomach is roilingdo you have to forgo all
pharmaceutical relief? Not necessarily, says Bradley. But
since even benign-seeming remedies, such as aspirin,
ibuprofen, and certain cold preparations, can cause
problems for your baby, don't pop any pill without your
doctor's approval. If one medication is off-limits, she
can suggest an alternative. Acetaminophen (Tylenol), for
instance, is fine.
Secondhand
Smoke
You may have given up cigarettes, but if your mate's
still puffing away, your baby's getting hefty doses of
the 43 cancer-causing chemicals in cigarette smoke. In
fact, exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy
raises the risk of low birth weight, sudden infant death
syndrome, and other health problems. So ask your partner
to quit or to cut downif not for his own health,
then for yours and your baby's. And tell anyone who
lights up around you to kindly take it outside.
Stress
Every time you look down, your growing belly reminds you
of just how much your life will change once your baby is
born. Exciting, yes. Stressful? You bet. Even so, try to
take it easy. Stress causes the release of hormones that
reduce blood flow to the placenta and triggers
contractions, and it has been linked to miscarriage,
preterm birth, and low birth weight, Bradley explains. If
you hold a high-pressure job, do what you can to scale
back. If you're feeling the heat in your personal life,
practice relaxation techniques, surround yourself with
supportive people, and seek counseling if need be.
Vitamin A
As is the case with its chemical relative Accutane (a
prescription acne drug), high doses of vitamin A during
pregnancy can cause heart and facial defects, says Resnik.
How much is too much? Some studies have indicated that
problems can occur when pregnant women take more than 10,000
international units (IU) a day, while others list 25,000
IUs and even 50,000 IUs as the threshold. You get a fair
amount of vitamin A from the food you eat, and though the
dose in your prenatal vitamin should be fine, your doctor
can tell you whether it's an excessive amount.
Leah Hennen is a writer and editor in San Francisco and the mother of two, ages four and one.
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