A Healthy Beginning for Pregnancy: Prenatal Health Checklist

A Healthy Beginning for Pregnancy

Get healthy
If fast food, sodas and sweets are your mainstays, change your ways, Graves advises. Eating a healthier, well-balanced diet will boost your overall health and—once you conceive—provide your baby with the vitamins and minerals necessary for development.

Prenatal vitamins
Take a daily multivitamin that contains 400mg of folic acid. You can buy these over the counter. Eat breakfast cereals fortified with folic acid, as well as green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, and citrus fruits, which naturally contain folic acid. Get at least four servings of dairy products and calcium-rich foods daily. Get at least one serving of foods rich in vitamin C, vitamin A and folic acid daily. Avoid excessive vitamin A, which may be associated with birth defects.

Foods to avoid

Shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish (also called white snapper) because they contain high levels of mercury. Avoid raw fish and shellfish like oysters and clams.
Soft cheeses like feta, brie, camembert, blue-veined, and Mexican-style cheese—which are often unpasteurized and may cause listeria infection. The "safe" cheeses are hard cheese, processed cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, or yogurt.
Saccharin, because it crosses the placenta and is stored in fetal tissues. However, other FDA-approved sweeteners (Equal, NutraSweet, Splenda) are acceptable during pregnancy.

Stimulants
Limit caffeine to no more than 300mg daily—about two eight-ounce cups of coffee a day. Be careful that you're not getting additional caffeine in soft drinks, tea or chocolate. Caffeine may affect blood flow to the uterus, which could affect the developing fetus.

Alcohol, tobacco, drugs
If your lifestyle includes alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs, quit. They pose serious risks to a fetus. Get advice from your doctor if you have trouble quitting.

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SOURCES: Connie Graves, MD, director of maternal-fetal medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tenn. Michael Greene, MD, director of obstetrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic: "Your Baby's Growth and Development Months 1 to 9," "Diabetes and Pregnancy," "Prenatal Vitamins," "Considering Pregnancy," "Pregnant with Asthma," "Smoking During Pregnancy," "Depression," "Taking Medicine During Pregnancy," "Preeclampsia and Eclampsia," "Eating Right while Pregnant," "Is it Safe to Get Vaccinations?" CDC Office of Oral Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. WebMD Medical Reference: "Preparing for Pregnancy" and "Ready or Not: First Trimester" from "The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby." WebMD Medical News: "ACE Inhibitors May Boost Birth Defects"; "Pregnancy Antidepressants: Baby Risk."

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