As soon as you learned you were pregnant, you may have experienced a moment of panic. Apart from your pregnancy insomnia, you have many questions. Should I throw away everything in my fridge? Will I poison my baby? I want to eat only chips and beetroot puree for a week, is that a good idea? (No. It’s a very bad idea.)
Let's start with what scares the most: the prohibitions.
Alcohol, the embodiment of evil
You will certainly find studies online that say one or two glasses a week can’t hurt, and that alcohol is allowed if consumed reasonably. However, these results are subject to debate, and you don’t want to play Russian roulette with your child’s brain. Don’t tempt fate for a small glass of red wine, drink water!
Alcohol easily crosses the placenta: your baby is at risk of fetal alcohol syndrome or neurological disorders, because alcohol primarily affects the brain and nervous system of the fetus. (Does that scare you? That’s normal!). Stunted growth, risks of facial abnormalities, learning disorders, and later problems with depression, anxiety, and a variety of behavioral and emotional disorders affect children whose mothers drank during pregnancy. There is also a high chance they will be born premature, and with a very low weight.
Tea, coffee, soft drinks, and energy drinks: stimulants
These drinks contain stimulants (theine or caffeine, it’s the same thing), and prevent the absorption of iron and calcium from other foods you eat. Too bad, because they could have been useful for the baby! You should not exceed 300mg of caffeine per day. Know that a standard cup of coffee contains about 179mg of caffeine, a cup of green tea 30mg of caffeine, and a can of cola 36 to 50mg of caffeine.
Bonus: dark chocolate also contains caffeine, so avoid in large quantities. 28g of dark chocolate contains 19mg of caffeine…
Plants and herbal teas with harmful effects
After seeing tea and coffee removed from the list of acceptable drinks, you may have already been turning to herbal teas as the last bastion of a warm and relaxing drink. Bad news: even herbal teas are not safe. Some herbal teas have poorly studied effects on pregnancy, and others can stimulate the uterus, affect your hormones, increase your bleeding time, or even cause miscarriage or high blood pressure.
Some plants contain phytosterol, a substance similar to cholesterol, except it is found in certain plants, notably soy, corn, and sea buckthorn. It is said to lower blood cholesterol levels – in reality, you need a tailored diet to truly benefit (and consult your doctor). It should be avoided during pregnancy, but also not given to children under 5 years old, because phytosterol can reduce vitamin A in your body. Vitamin A is useful for a good immune system, healthy skin, and eyes.
Here is a long list (indigestible, in every sense) of plants not to ingest during your pregnancy (or to use as essential oils on your body, in gel, in infusion...) that you are likely to find in stores.
Wormwood, green anise, cumin, Chinese angelica, rosehip, feverfew, fennel, fenugreek, raspberry leaves (except at the end of pregnancy), ginger, ginseng, blue vervain, yarrow, clove, hops, mint, alfalfa, myrrh, oregano, parsley, licorice, rosemary, sarsaparilla, sage, soy, thyme, garlic (especially in the third trimester), aloe, basil (in essential oil), pumpkin, colchicum, eucalyptus, juniper, valerian, rhubarb and saffron
For more exotic plants, check!
No overly fatty or sugary foods
Biscuits, pastries, candies, chocolate, excess butter or oil, all of this must be cut out with the arrival of a baby. You must more than ever eat healthy and balanced, because maternal obesity puts both mother and child at very high risk for a whole range of disorders: high blood pressure, preeclampsia, urinary infections, thromboembolic events…
Cold cuts, liver, and dietary supplements
After vitamin A deficiency, excess vitamin A is also not good. In cold cuts, liver in particular should be avoided (whether pâté, jelly, mousse, terrine, rillette, pan-fried, and so on) because it contains too much vitamin A and increases your risk of catching listeriosis, a horrible disease that attacks the baby’s nervous system.
Regarding dietary supplements, don’t touch them without your doctor’s advice! Your vitamin intake should be sufficient from your daily food, you don’t want to disrupt your baby by giving it just anything.
Raw things (cheeses, eggs, meats, and fish)
Raw foods are a source of bacteria that can cause a variety of diseases in your child, who does not yet have a very effective immune system. Notably, toxoplasmosis (and also listeriosis), which can go unnoticed in the mother (often, toxoplasmosis only manifests as a few vague flu-like symptoms) but has extremely serious neurological consequences for the baby.
- So ban raw milk cheeses (i.e., unpasteurized) and blue cheeses: Roquefort, Brie, Camembert, Bleu d’Auvergne, Mont d’Or… Also do not eat cheese rinds, which are particularly full of bacteria.
- Eat meat only if it is well cooked (blue, rare, and pink meats are now forbidden). Smoked meats can contain bacteria, and beware of barbecue cooking: often, meats are not cooked evenly… If you are vegetarian, you can continue your diet while making sure you get all the nutrients necessary for the baby’s development. At Livlab, we recommend eating as little meat as possible - because it’s better for health, but also for ethical reasons.
- Be careful with raw or undercooked eggs, meaning no mayonnaise, and no soft-boiled eggs. All sauces made with unpasteurized milk or mayonnaise are also forbidden.
- No raw fish like sushi or tartare (unless the sushi has been frozen, which kills bacteria).
Fatty fish in moderation
Fatty fish absorb the most pollution in their natural environment, however they are full of omega-3s, which are good for you and the baby. To have the best of both worlds, do not eat fatty fish more than twice a week, and only mackerel, trout, or sardines.
Avoid: tuna, shark, marlin, and swordfish, which contain too much mercury.
Allergies & light products
If you have a family with allergic tendencies, avoid eating what they are allergic to during your pregnancy, as it could trigger an allergy in the baby! Also avoid “light” products (which accustom your baby to a taste too strong for sugar), and sweeteners (notably aspartame, a sugar substitute that is very dangerous. It is found in sugar-free Coca-Cola, for example).
Hygiene habits
When pregnant, don’t forget to wash your hands well, to thoroughly clean the counter where you prepare food and everything that may have come into contact with bacteria, to wash your tools well, and to wash fruits and vegetables themselves thoroughly.
Well. After all that, you may feel like you will have to live on love and fresh water for 9 months. That’s good, you should have plenty of love to give right now! :)
PS: Don’t worry, we’re not going to leave you hanging like that! Take a look at good nutrition for pregnancy, right here.
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