Pregnant? You already know to steer clear of alcohol and cigarettes.
Here are other hazards to avoid.
By Leah Hennen
When I was expecting my first child, threats to my baby's health seemed to
lurk everywhere. I knew, of course, that alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs of any
kind were off-limits. But what about those lattes I'd chugged before I knew I
was pregnant? Did I need to get rid of my beloved cats? What sort of
environmental hazards was I unwittingly exposing my fetus to? Nine months of
caffeine withdrawal, cat avoidance, and breath-holding-around-noxious-odors
later, my strapping baby boy arrived.
Unlike
me, you don't have to be paranoid when you're pregnant. "You can't put
yourself in a glass bottle during pregnancy—all you can do is avoid known
risks," says Dr. Robert Resnik, a professor of reproductive medicine at the
University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. Since some women, such
as those with high blood pressure or gestational diabetes, need to take extra
precautions, talk to your doctor about special circumstances that relate to you.
Also steer clear of the following:
Too Much Caffeine
For java junkies like me, the research on caffeine during pregnancy has been
maddeningly contradictory. Some studies point to problems such as miscarriage
and low birth weight, while others show no such relationship. The latest
consensus is that only excessive amounts of caffeine (more than 300 milligrams a
day) are likely to cause these problems, says Dr. Kathleen Bradley, a
maternal-fetal medicine specialist and assistant clinical professor of
obstetrics and gynecology at the UCLA School of Medicine. The caffeine content
of different brews varies, but you should be able to stay under the
300-milligram mark by limiting your daily quaffing to one or two 5-ounce cups of
coffee or tea or a few 12-ounce cans of soda. (Since even non-colas can pack
quite a caffeine punch, check the label before you imbibe.) And while chocolate
does contain caffeine, it typically has much less—1 to 35 milligrams per one
ounce—than coffee.
Cat Litter
Cat feces may play host to a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. The symptoms
(fever, fatigue, and sore throat) are similar to those of a garden-variety flu,
but the results (miscarriage, preterm labor, or serious health problems in the
newborn) can be devastating. Even so, having a baby on board doesn't mean you
need to send your puss packing, says Marion McCartney, a certified nurse-midwife
and the director of professional services at the American College of
Nurse-Midwives in Washington, D.C. It simply means you should put your mate on
litter-box duty for the nine-month duration. It's also a good idea to wash your
hands after heavy petting sessions with the cat and after handling raw meat.
Don't feed yourself or the cat undercooked meat (which can harbor the parasite).
Wear gloves when you're gardening and avoid children's sandboxes. (Roaming cats
may use these as litter boxes.)
Certain Foods
Beware, foodies: Uncooked, soft cheeses (such as feta, Camembert, Brie, and
blue-veined varieties), unpasteurized milk and the foods made from it, and raw
or undercooked meats, fish, and poultry may contain listeria bacteria. During
pregnancy, listeriosis (symptoms include fever, chills, diarrhea, and nausea)
can cause miscarriage, preterm labor, or stillbirth. Some seafood may also
contain high levels of mercury, PCBs, and other toxins. If these foods are
consumed during pregnancy, the baby is put at risk for developmental delays.
(Your local health department may be able to tell you which fish to avoid.)
Experts recommend that expecting mothers limit their servings of shark and
swordfish—which contain higher levels of mercury than other fish—to one
three-ounce serving a month. Finally, lab tests have linked heavy consumption of
saccharine to cancer. Though you're not likely to swill enough of the artificial
sweetener to equal several times your body weight, you may still want to forgo
those little pink packets for now. Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) appears to be a
safe sugar substitute.
Herbal Remedies
You know that many prescription drugs are off-limits during pregnancy, but the
natural remedies you can pick up at health-food stores are okay, aren't they?
Guess again: Herbal remedies can have a potent effect on your body—and your
baby's—cautions McCartney. Don't take anything without running it by your
health-care provider first. She'll most likely tell you not to use any during
your first trimester. Throughout your pregnancy, steer clear of goldenseal,
mugwort, and pennyroyal, all of which have been associated with uterine
contractions (which could possibly lead to miscarriage or preterm labor); Asian
ginseng (which interferes with metabolism); and feverfew (though popular for
migraine headaches, it has unpredictable effects on pregnant women). It's also
wise to avoid herbal teas that purport to have medicinal benefits.
Home Hazards
If you haven't been gripped by that famous pregnancy cleaning-and-nesting
frenzy, chances are you will be soon. Safety tips for those 3 a.m.
floor-scrubbing and nursery-decorating sessions: Read labels carefully. Wear
gloves and work in well-ventilated areas. And avoid aerosols (which disperse
more chemicals into the air than pump bottles do), oven cleaners, paint fumes,
solvents, and furniture strippers. Although frequent, heavy exposure to
chemicals in the workplace (home workshops count, too) has been linked to birth
defects, Bradley explains, home use of most products is more likely to make you
feel faint or nauseous—not a great proposition when you're nine months
pregnant and perched high on a ladder or wedged behind the toilet.
Overheating
Soaking in the hot tub or relaxing in a sauna may seem like the perfect way to
pamper your pregnant body, but raising your core temperature—especially during
the first trimester—may boost the odds of birth defects. It's safe to soak in
a lukewarm bath, though. Just make sure that the temperature is not above 100
degrees and that you get out after about ten minutes, Resnik advises. Sustained
exercise in very hot, humid weather can also raise your core temperature. When
you do exercise, be sure to drink liquids before, during, and after, and if you
find that you're heating up, take a five- or ten-minute breather.
Lead
Lead exposure has been linked to miscarriage, preterm labor, low birth weight,
and mental and behavioral problems in children. Residue from the toxic metal can
lurk in places you might not suspect: houses built before 1978 (the year lead
paint was banned), tap water, even calcium supplements. A few precautions will
reduce the amount of lead you come into contact with: Call in a lead-abatement
specialist if you live in an older home with chipping or peeling paint.
(Whatever you do, don't try to sand or scrape it off yourself.) Filtering your
water may help, or have your tap water tested. (Call the Environmental
Protection Agency's Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 for a testing
lab in your area.) Finally, if you take a calcium supplement, ask your doctor to
recommend one that's low in lead, such as Tums 500 Calcium Supplement.
Certain Over-the-Counter Drugs
Your back is aching, your heart is burning, and your stomach is roiling—do you
have to forgo all pharmaceutical relief? Not necessarily, says Bradley. But
since even benign-seeming remedies, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and certain cold
preparations, can cause problems for your baby, don't pop any pill without your
doctor's approval. If one medication is off-limits, she can suggest an
alternative. Acetaminophen (Tylenol), for instance, is fine.
Secondhand Smoke
You may have given up cigarettes, but if your mate's still puffing away, your
baby's getting hefty doses of the 43 cancer-causing chemicals in cigarette
smoke. In fact, exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy raises the risk of
low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, and other health problems. So
ask your partner to quit or to cut down—if not for his own health, then for
yours and your baby's. And tell anyone who lights up around you to kindly take
it outside.
Stress
Every time you look down, your growing belly reminds you of just how much your
life will change once your baby is born. Exciting, yes. Stressful? You bet. Even
so, try to take it easy. Stress causes the release of hormones that reduce blood
flow to the placenta and triggers contractions, and it has been linked to
miscarriage, preterm birth, and low birth weight, Bradley explains. If you hold
a high-pressure job, do what you can to scale back. If you're feeling the heat
in your personal life, practice relaxation techniques, surround yourself with
supportive people, and seek counseling if need be.
Vitamin A
As is the case with its chemical relative Accutane (a prescription acne drug),
high doses of vitamin A during pregnancy can cause heart and facial defects,
says Resnik. How much is too much? Some studies have indicated that problems can
occur when pregnant women take more than 10,000 international units (IU) a day,
while others list 25,000 IUs and even 50,000 IUs as the threshold. You get a
fair amount of vitamin A from the food you eat, and though the dose in your
prenatal vitamin should be fine, your doctor can tell you whether it's an
excessive amount.
Leah Hennen is a writer and editor in San Francisco and the
mother of two, ages four and one.
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