Foods To Avoid During Pregnancy

Caffeine crosses through the placenta into your baby’s circulation. It also is present in breast milk.

Instead of drinking a caffeinated beverage, have some herb tea. Raspberry is a great tea for pregnant women. It offers benefits for your entire body and tastes good. Avoid yerba mate, as it contains caffeine.

The World Health Organization recommends that pregnant women consume a maximum of 300 milligrams of caffeine per day. A daily maximum of less than 200 milligrams of caffeine is recommended by the March of Dimes.

An average cup of coffee contains about 140 milligrams of caffeine. Black or green teas generally contain between 40-50 milligrams per cup. An 8 ounce cola contains about 30 milligrams and a candy bar between 10-30 milligrams. Keep in mind that these are average amounts. Serving sizes are often much larger. Specialty coffees and teas may contain significantly higher amounts.

If you substitute a decaffeinated coffee or tea, be sure that it has been naturally decaffeinated with water, not with chemicals.

I see no reason why a pregnant woman would drink soda on a regular basis except for all natural ginger ale if nausea is an issue.

Until more is known about the effects of caffeine on developing babies, I recommend avoiding or limiting caffeine consumption during pregnancy.

Eat a Healthy Diet While Pregnant

A healthy diet during pregnancy need not be expensive. If you do spend a bit more, consider it as an investment in your baby’s entire life. There are no “do over’s” during pregnancy. Give yourself and your baby all of the advantages that you can while you are pregnant. You will feel better and you are more likely to have a wonderful healthy baby.

Author

This article was written for Insights-on-Health.com in Nov 2013 by Patricia Bratianu RN PhD RH-AHG. Patricia has been a Registered Nurse for almost forty years in a wide variety of settings. As a Registered Nurse, she realized that conventional healthcare was not meeting the needs of all patients. She became an herbalist and obtained a PhD in Natural Health. Patricia is a professional member of the American Herbalist’s Guild, passing the stringent peer reviewed process to become a Registered Herbalist.

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