You’re Health In Pregnancy

This part of the website describes some of the things you should think about to make sure you and your baby stay healthy during pregnancy.

What Should You Eat?  A healthy diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle at any time, but particularly if your pregnant or are planning on a pregnancy. Eating healthily during our pregnancy will help your baby develop and grow and will help keep you fit and well.

You don’t need to go on special diet but make sure you eat a variety of different foods every day in order to get the right balance of nutrients that you and your baby need.

What to know more about what to eat?

Smoking: When you smoke, carbon monoxide and other poisons pass into your lungs. This means that: (a) you baby gets less oxygen and cannot grow as well as it should, and (b) the nicotine makes your baby’s heart beat faster. Breathing in other people’s smoke makes the baby more likely to suffer from asthma attacks, chest infections, coughs and colds, and to be admitted to hospital.

What to know more about smoking while pregnant? 

Alcohol: Research shows that heavy or frequent drinking can seriously harm your baby’s development. When you drink, alcohol reaches your baby through the placenta. But your baby cannot process it as fast as you can and is exposed to greater amounts of alcohol for longer than you are.

To find out more about the effects of alcohol, click here.

Pills, Medicines and Other Drugs: Some pills and medicines (including painkillers) can harm your baby’s health, for more information about this, please click here or on the title.

Physical Activity: The more fit you are during pregnancy, the easier it will be for you to adapt to your changing shape and weight gain. It will also help you to cope with labour and get back in to shape after the birth, click here to read more or use the title.

Infections: Infections can seriously effect your baby’s development and extra care should be taken if you develop any infections. To find out more about infections, please click here or on the title.

Inherited Conditions: Some diseases or conditions, like cystic fibrosis, haemophilia, muscular dystrophy, sickle cell disorders and thalassaemia, are inherited from one or both parents.

If you would like to know more about inherited conditions, click here

Work Hazards and Coping At Work: If you work with chemicals, lead or X-Rays, or in a job with a lot of lifting, you may be risking your health and the health of your baby. Click here for more information on work hazards and coping at work or you can use the title or menu links.

Material Source: The Pregnancy Book 2007