Pregnancy tips
A child’s dental care really starts with his or her mother’s healthy pregnancy, because baby teeth begin to form before birth. If you are pregnant, make sure to eat a balanced, nutritious diet and get an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals. It’s important for pregnant women to have a complete dental exam and have any cavities or gum disease treated
Nutrition tips
- Strive for proper nutrition and weight gain during pregnancy. Pay close attention to your folic acid, iron, and calcium intake and the need for slow, gradual weight gain.
- A vegetarian diet during pregnancy and breast-feeding requires special attention to getting enough protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc, in addition to the extra folic acid, iron, and calcium that all expectant mothers need. These nutrients are vital to your fetus’s cellular growth, brain and organ development, and weight gain.
- Calcium is an important nutrient, especially during pregnancy. If you can’t or don’t eat dairy products, you can get calcium in your diet from nonmilk sources such as tofu, broccoli, fortified orange juice or soy milk, greens, and almonds.
- Getting enough vitamin C may help protect against premature rupture of membranes, according to one study.Vitamin C is important for keeping the membranes around the fetus strong and healthy. You can get enough vitamin C by taking your daily prenatal vitamin and eating fruits and vegetables. Common foods that have high vitamin C content include citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, berries, broccoli, cabbage, and brussels sprouts.
What to avoid
- Drug use and medications that are not approved by your health professional (for example, NSAID use during conception and early pregnancy, which may increase the risk of miscarriage)
- Papaya, when at all unripe, because it can cause the muscles of the uterus to contract.Contractions of the uterus can lead to a miscarriage.
- Caffeine. Or limit your intake to 1 cup of coffee or tea each day.
- Alcohol
- Tobacco smoke
- Hot tubs and saunas
- Sources of toxoplasmosis infection, including raw meat, poultry, or seafood; unwashed fruits or vegetables; and cat feces or outdoor soil that cats commonly use
- Fish that may contain mercury, such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, more than 6oz of white albacore tuna per week, or fish caught in local waters that haven’t tested as safe
- Hazardous chemicals, radiation, and certain cosmetic products