Lifestyle Issues

Exercise and healthy eating during your pregnancy can help you have a healthy child. There are also some substances you will want to avoid while you’re pregnant.

Alcohol

When a woman drinks alcohol, she is at risk of giving birth to a baby with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). A FAS baby can have:

• central nervous system disorders
• behavioural problems
• developmental delays and learning disabilities
• growth problems
• abnormal facial features

Unfortunately, although the risk of FAS increases with the amount of alcohol a woman drinks, it is unclear how much alcohol is safe. As little as one or two drinks every day has resulted in problems. Three to five drinks at once may be particularly harmful. What counts as a drink? One drink is 44 ml (1.5 oz) of hard liquor, 340 ml (12 oz) of beer or 142 ml (5 oz) of wine. In a joint statement, Health Canada, the Canadian Pediatric Society and 17 other health organizations stated that 'the prudent choice for women who are or may become pregnant is to abstain from alcohol.'

Smoking

The effects of smoking (cigarettes, cigars, pipes or marijuana) on the health of your baby are well known. They include low birth weight, miscarriage, bleeding during pregnancy, and early delivery. Second-hand smoke is no less dangerous. Children of smokers are more likely to have colds and chest infections.

Quitting smoking is never easy, and it may be more difficult with all of the pregnancy-related changes happening in your life. Talk to your doctor or midwife for support.

Drugs and Herbal Remedies

Review with your caregiver all the drugs you and your partner have been using, including prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs, herbal remedies and recreational drugs. Don't discontinue a medication or take a new one without consulting your caregiver.

Herbal remedies are not safe just because they are 'natural.' Some herbal remedies, like goldenseal, can cause miscarriage. If your caregiver does approve the use of a herbal medicine, make sure you buy a reputable name brand. There are currently no regulations guiding the labelling of herbal remedies, so it is possible that not all of the ingredients will be listed on a product’s label, and ingredients may vary between brands.

Some women find that drinking herbal tea can be relaxing and soothing during pregnancy (especially if they are trying to avoid caffeine). The Health Canada guide, Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy suggests six teas that are generally considered safe during pregnancy, if used in moderation (two or three cups a day). They are:

• citrus peel
• ginger
• lemon balm
• linden flower (not recommended for women with pre-existing cardiac conditions)
• orange peel
• rosehip

Again you should be wary of incompletely labelled products. Chamomile tea, which is often considered very mild, is not recommended during pregnancy.

Caffeine

Try to limit the amount of caffeine you consume. Too much caffeine during pregnancy increases a woman’s risk of spontaneous abortion and of giving birth to a low birth-weight baby. Motherisk advises pregnant and lactating women to limit the amount of caffeine they consume to no more than 150 milligrams of caffeine a day from all sources. A small (250 ml or 8 oz) cup of coffee contains approximately 100 mg of caffeine, although it can have more or less caffeine depending on the type of coffee and how it is prepared. The same sized cup of tea contains approximately 50 mg (although that amount can vary too, depending on the kind of tea and how strong it is). A can of pop has approximately 50 mg of caffeine, and a solid three-ounce chocolate bar has about 45 mg.

Caffeine is also present in cocoa, hot chocolate, some headache medications, and non-drowsy cold or allergy medications. Herbal teas do not contain caffeine and are generally safe to drink, but stay away from chamomile tea, as well as teas that contain aloe, coltsfoot, juniper berries, pennyroyal, buckthorn bark, comfrey, labrador tea, sassafras, duck roots, lobelia and senna leaves.

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