Do’s

• See your doctor regularly.
• Continue taking folic acid throughout your pregnancy.
• Eat a variety of healthy foods.
• When cooking, keep raw meats, poultry, and seafood from touching other foods or surfaces and cook raw meat thoroughly. Clean, handle, cook, and chill food properly to prevent foodborne illness.
• Wash produce before eating it.
• Wash cooking utensils with hot, soapy water.
• Get all essential nutrients, including iron, every day.
• Drink extra fluids, especially water.
• Get moving! Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, physical activity is good for you and your baby.
• Gain and maintain a healthy amount of weight.
• Wash hands, especially after handling raw meat or using the bathroom.
• Get seven to nine hours of sleep every night.
• Control the stress in your life and set limits.
• Make sure health problems are treated and kept under control.
• Ask your doctor before stopping any medicines you take or taking any new medicines or supplements.
• Get a flu shot.
• Always wear a seatbelt. The lap strap should go under your belly, across your hips.
• Join a childbirth or parenting class.

Don’ts

• Don’t use tobacco products, alcohol, or illegal drugs.
• Avoid exposure to toxic substances and chemicals including paint fumes.
• Protect yourself and your baby from food-borne illness.
• Don’t clean or change a cat’s litterbox.
• Don’t eat swordfish, king mackerel, shark, and tilefish, which are high in mercury.
• Don’t eat more than six ounces of tuna per week.
• Don’t eat hot dogs, deli meats, refrigerated meat spreads, unpasteurized milk, juices or cheese, store-made salads, herbs and plants as medicines, or raw sprouts of any type.
• Avoid contact with rodents (including pets) and with their urine, droppings, or nesting material.
• Don’t take very hot baths or use hot tubs or saunas.
• Don’t use scented feminine hygiene products and don’t douche.
• Avoid x-rays.

For more information visit Danville Regional Medical Center’s Health Library.