Aspertame (an artificial sweetner)
Changing kitty litter box & raw meat(to avoid toxoplasmosis)
X-rays
Any medication not discusses w/ DR. first.
Electric blankets/heating pads
Drugs/drinking/smoking (or even 2nd hand smoke)
Abuse...mental or phyisical.
stress
caffeine
hot tubs/saunas

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by handling cat feces (found in cat litter) and handling raw meat. This infection can cause misscariage, or harm your baby. Keep hands washed!!!
Please add any info you are aware of. I am sure there are things I have missed.

Green tea and black teas......they can problems too!

Thank you for sharing this list. It's always great to have a little reminder when there is all sorts of information floating around out there. I agree with everything, so far, on this list =)

Don't get your teeth cleaned during first trimester. This isn't due to any issues with the baby, but very simply, the gag reflex is much worse then and if you have morning sickness, your dentist may see your breakfast come back up.

Wow, Katie, that almost sounds like a lesson learned through personal experience!

I have also heard of some fish, shellfish, or shark because of the mercury.
Soft cheeses(like mozarella)

Yes...avoid all shell fish, and most "seafood"....even avoid canned tuna now they say! They just updated OB's with this new info in the past 1.5 years....they used to think that canned tuna was safe...not now.

Ok, you guys are freaking me out!! No mozzarella cheese? No tuna? No fish?? No green tea? I haven't eaten TONS of the afore mentioned...just here and there. ---I'M GONNA DIE!!!!!---

;=0 J/K

Now there are SAFE fish varieties...salmon, tilapia, most white fish....just no tuna of any kind, seafood/shellfish/shrimp/shark, or sushi due to being un-cooked.....just eat the good fish in moderation too.

Green tea and black tea can bring on preterm labor, so that's why to avoid them...

mozerella I was told was fine if cooked, like on pizza and stuff....just to avoid things like brie/mexican soft cheeses/etc...again due to the unpasturized processes it could contain harmful bacteria just as lunchmeat and hot dogs can and that's why to avoid those

Thanks, Breezy - but still, shrimp is my favorite! Am I supposed to avoid it because of mercury content....or what?

Right now I'm just eating tons of carbs...it's all my tummy seems to want.

HeHe!!

Personally, while it's good advice, I don't think it's good to be overly paranoid about it. I eat a lot of things you aren't "supposed" to while pregnant. Like I will have a pepsi and be OK (although tons of caffeine is probably a bad idea.) I eat things like lunchmeat etc, and soft cheeses, and I don't worry about it.

The main thing with the lunchmeat is listeria. However, if an outbreak occurs, they do recall it, so it's not like your food is swimming in listeria just waiting to get you because you are pregnant. I don't avoid lettuce because of all the E. Coli scares either, I just keep up on the news and make sure the lettuce I get is not part of the recalls....

there's always a chance you can get sick from something anyway. You can get food poisoning from a restaurant. But I don't intend to not ever eat out while I am pregnant for being afraid of that. All things in moderation, and common sense. I keep my kitchen clean and follow basic food safety during preparation - and I don't let myself worry over everything. That's just my personal opinion, some people would feel too stressed taking in "questionable" foods during pregnancy, so maybe it's better for them to avoid the dozens of foods they say not to eat for their peace of mind.

It's actually all fish due to the mercury content. However, there is a recommended amount not to be exceeded so that you can enjoy the fish and still be safe. Mercury can cause brain damage so I avoid fish all together 1st trimester. I'm sure if you look somewhere like webmd you can find out the exact recommendation. Albacore tuna is a big no, no... they say it has the highest amounts of mercury. My doc has always said to avoid all herbal teas. Oh yeah... and all bottom feeding fish have high mercury content (scavengers)... shell fish are all bottom feeders.

Here's an FDA page about the content of mercury in fish

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/reprints/mercury.html

they have a list of average mercury content of different kinds of fish...

FDA toxicologists have determined that for persons other than pregnant women and women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, regular consumption of fish species with methyl mercury levels around 1 part per million (ppm)--such as shark and swordfish--should be limited to about 7 ounces per week (about one serving) to stay below the acceptable daily intake for methyl mercury. For fish with levels averaging 0.5 ppm, regular consumption should be limited to about 14 ounces per week. Current evidence indicates that nursing women who follow this advice do not expose their infants to increased risk from methyl mercury.

Consumption advice is unnecessary for the top 10 seafood species, making up about 80 percent of the seafood market--canned tuna, shrimp, pollock, salmon, cod, catfish, clams, flatfish, crabs, and scallops. This is because the methyl mercury levels in these species are all less than 0.2 ppm and few people eat more than the suggested weekly limit of fish (2.2 pounds) for this level of methyl mercury contamination.

Source: see Cheese's post above.

Awesome :) I was worried, as I love shrimp, and generally apply the same guidelines for what I do/do not eat during pregnancy and nursing.

I think it's also good to avoid spending lots of time with negative people who aren't happy that you're pregnant or who love sharing their own horror stories (esp. if you're a first time Mom). Of course, you need to be informed, but not to be given cause to worry or to defend yourself.

I am one of those very food paranoid people while preggo...simply because my neighbor lost her baby at 9 months because she contracted listeria from a hotdog......that makes it so vivid in my mind that it always scared me silly!

Now, saying this...I did have one pop a day....that was the ONLY thing that made it possible to get out of bed in the AM and helped cure the pukey feeling enough to move....;-)

shrimp, yes mercury...and they're bottom feeders which makes them not as healthy due to possible bacteria...

Hehehe... I've learned this lesson too. I generally delete all of my MIL's emails when I'm preggers... she's a real worry wart and will scare you into never leaving the house. It rubs off sometimes, but after three kids... I'm not worried much about anything. Food fell on the floor?... Blow it off and eat it... LOL.


I think it's also good to avoid spending lots of time with negative people who aren't happy that you're pregnant or who love sharing their own horror stories (esp. if you're a first time Mom). Of course, you need to be informed, but not to be given cause to worry or to defend yourself.

Not to laugh but I just posted about this on my myspace page and how in this day of an overabundance of knowledge at our disposal parents are inundated by SO much info (that changes with the breeze) that it can all be a bit maddening.

My stance? Go with your "gut" feelings. If you feel something is wrong (food/sleep postions/cloth vs. disposable...) then go with that. Anyway...best of luck & blessings to you! ~Kerri

Rosemary is to be avoided during pregnancy. The amount typically used in cooking, is safe. But medicinal doses taken orally are unsafe as is its use in aromatherapy.

I'm still trying to find out if this includes bath products.

*rosemary irritates the uterus and can cause miscarriage, especially in the early months AND in those 'more suseptible (sp?)' to miscarriage