Food and lifestyle | beWonder Midwifery Practice

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: some 2 to 3 litres a day. For more on taking folic acid, see elsewhere on this website.
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 does advise pregnant women to eat oily fish no more than twice a week, because alongside the good fatty acids it also contains harmful dioxins. Vacuum-packed fish is not advised; frozen fish is fine.

Toxoplasmosis

Eating raw or lightly cooked meat — rare roast beef, steak, steak tartare and raw cured sausage — is strongly advised against. 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

Eating soft cheeses made from raw, unpasteurised milk is strongly advised against. 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. There is no objection to eating cheese, including blue cheese, made from pasteurised or sterilised milk.

Listeria is found above all in products kept in the fridge for a long time and eaten without being heated. Raw milk from the farm must be boiled before drinking.

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 normal pregnancy there is nothing you may not do where sex is concerned. Sex cannot normally cause a miscarriage or harm your baby. Because of the risk of infection, however, intercourse is not advised if you are bleeding or your waters have broken.
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 it can be taken into account during the birth.

Sport

Sport during pregnancy is fine. 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. Deep-sea diving is not advised, nor are sports where you might fall, such as gymnastics and riding.

Holidays

Going on holiday is perfectly fine. Do choose a destination with good medical care. There is no medical objection to flying, 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. Destinations at very high altitude (2,150 metres and above) are not advised, 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

Smoking harms the unborn child. Passive smoking is harmful too. If you smoke, there is a greater chance during pregnancy of a miscarriage, a premature birth, the placenta coming away early, a baby with a lower birth weight, or a condition such as a cleft lip or club foot. After the birth there is a greater chance of a baby in poorer general condition, with breathing and/or behavioural problems, airway infections and/or middle ear infections. Smoking is also linked with excessive crying and even with cot death. It can cause difficulties with breastfeeding as well. And conceiving is harder if you smoke.

Alcohol

Drinking alcohol is advised against entirely — not even one glass a day. If you are trying to conceive, alcohol reduces fertility (the father's too) and raises the chance of a miscarriage. During pregnancy it increases the risk of a miscarriage or premature birth and can affect your baby's psychomotor development. Several glasses a day during pregnancy can lead to serious congenital abnormalities, such as foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). These children show growth abnormalities, brain damage and distinctive facial features. Drinking more than two glasses a day during pregnancy increases the chance that the child will later develop an alcohol addiction. Alcohol while breastfeeding can affect how your baby feeds: in the three hours after a mother has had one or more alcoholic drinks, babies turn out to drink considerably less than when she has had none at all. Alcohol can also disturb their pattern of sleeping and waking.

Drugs

Any use of drugs during pregnancy is strongly advised against. Drugs can cause withdrawal symptoms in the newborn baby. Some carry an increased risk of a baby with congenital abnormalities.