5 Dos And Donts To Follow During Pregnancy

Congratulations on your pregnancy! However, before your baby arrives, you are going to have to make sure that you provide a healthy and safe environment for him/her. There are a couple dos and don’ts that you can do to help your baby grow in a nurturing space.

1. Exercise wisely

It was believed that letting your heartrate go over 140 beats per minute could over-heat the baby, but gone are the days when pregnant women didn’t lift a single finger. Doctors today recommend that women do exercises that focus on breathing. Exercises are beneficial for both babies and moms. It helps combat a lot of problem that moms face during pregnancy like insomnia, muscle pain and mood problems.

2. Don’t drink or smoke

This one is very well known. Smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy increases risks of birth defects and mental disabilities in the baby. Some of the results of expecting mothers smoking and drinking include learning disabilities, behavioral problems, low birth weight and the possibility of lagging patterns of growth. If you need help to quit drinking or smoking, ask your doctor to help you find the closest Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting or get you into a support group.

3. Don’t consume too much caffeine

Caffeine can penetrate through the placenta and affect the baby’s heart rate. This can cause a miscarriage and the more caffeine you consume, the higher the risk of a miscarriage. However, this doesn’t mean you have to completely erase caffeine from your life, as it is okay to consume less that 200 milligrams a day. Though, it is a good idea to keep a watch on your intake just so there is no chance of an excessive intake of caffeine.

4. Do have sex

As long your doctor says okay, sex during pregnancy is perfectly safe. However, make sure you run it by your doctor once, so you don’t have any complications later on.

5. Don’t clean your cat’s litter box (if you have a cat)

This is a slightly lesser know ‘don’t’. If you have a cat, do not be the one who cleans out the litter box. The feline waste is filled with bacteria. One in particular, Toxoplasma Gondii, is a very dangerous parasite and the worst part is that you probably won’t even get to know that you have been infected until the parasite starts to cause complications. Miscarriages, stillbirths and defects are likely due to this.