Advice on food
Living healthily matters. Eat a healthy, varied diet, do not smoke and do not drink alcohol. If you eat well you need no extra vitamins or minerals apart from folic acid; there is plenty in fresh vegetables and fruit. Drinking enough matters too: at least two litres a day.
Fresh fish is good for you. Fish contains fatty acids that are important for, among other things, the development of the brain and eyesight. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises eating fish twice a week: once oily fish, such as salmon, and once lean fish, such as tilapia. Alongside the good fatty acids, oily fish also contains harmful dioxins, which is why once a week is enough. Vacuum-packed fish is better left alone; frozen fish is fine.
Toxoplasmosis
Do not eat raw or lightly cooked meat — rare roast beef, steak, steak tartare or raw cured sausage. Such meat can contain a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, an infection which during pregnancy can lead to abnormalities in the unborn child. The parasite can also be present in cat faeces, particularly those of kittens, so never change a litter tray without gloves. Do not work in the garden without gloves either, and think of uncovered sandpits in gardens and playgrounds. Wash all vegetables thoroughly before eating them.
Listeria
Do not eat soft cheeses made from raw, unpasteurised milk either. French cheeses of this kind usually say 'au lait cru' on the packaging. These cheeses can contain listeria, a bacterium that causes food poisoning. The chance of infection is small, but the consequences can be serious: in pregnant women this infection can lead to a miscarriage or premature birth. Cheese made from pasteurised or sterilised milk, blue cheese included, you can eat as usual.
Listeria is found above all in products that sit in the fridge for a long time and that you eat without heating. Boil raw milk from the farm before you drink it.
Vitamin A
Taking in too much vitamin A can be harmful to the unborn child. Vitamin A is found in large amounts in liver products. It is therefore better to avoid liver altogether, and to limit products containing liver, such as liver sausage and liver pâté, to at most once a week.
Medication
If you are trying to conceive or are pregnant, keep your use of medicines to a minimum. Always discuss this with your family doctor, the midwife or the pharmacy.
If you have to visit the dentist, a local anaesthetic does no harm — but always tell the dentist you are pregnant. If your doctor has prescribed medication, always mention it to the midwife at your first antenatal appointment.
X-rays
If an X-ray is necessary during your pregnancy, make sure the doctor and the radiographer know clearly that you are pregnant.
Harmful substances
During pregnancy, try to avoid contact with harmful substances as far as you can. These include turpentine-based paint and chemicals. No harmful effects of hair dye are known to date.
Sex
In a pregnancy that is going normally, you can have sex as usual. Sex does not normally cause a miscarriage and does not harm your baby. If you are bleeding or your waters have broken, wait a while: the risk of infection is greater then.
How sex feels during pregnancy differs from woman to woman. Symptoms such as tiredness, nausea and sore breasts can leave you with little appetite for it. You can always discuss any difficulties around sex with the midwife, including unpleasant experiences in the past. If you find internal examinations hard, do tell the midwife, so that we can take it into account during the birth.
Sport
You can carry on playing sport during pregnancy. You may need to take it at a gentler pace than before. Stop, or ease off, if it brings on symptoms such as a hard abdomen. Bear in mind that pregnancy makes you more prone to injury, because the ligaments soften. Do not go deep-sea diving, and avoid sports where you might fall, such as gymnastics and riding.
Holidays
You can go on holiday as usual. Do choose a destination with good medical care. There is no medical reason not to fly, but check with the tour operator or airline in advance up to how many weeks of pregnancy they accept passengers. The limit is usually 34 weeks. Give destinations at very high altitude (2,150 metres and above) a miss, because the air is thinner there and so less oxygen is available. Always take your pregnancy card with you, so that your details are to hand should you need them.
Smoking, alcohol and drugs
Smoking, alcohol and drugs harm your baby — before pregnancy, during pregnancy and while you are breastfeeding. What they do, and where to find help in stopping, is set out on Smoking, alcohol and drugs.