Starting a family: The Dos and Don’ts of pregnancy

Prof Fionnuala Breathnach, obstetrician and maternal fetal medicine specialist says she doesn’t give her patients a litany of dos and don’ts. The list of foods that should be avoided in pregnancy is actually very short, she says. “Don’t eat undercooked pork, anything that is a potential source of listeria – unpasteurised cheeses, raw eggs, whipped ice cream – or potential sources of high levels of vitamin A like liver.”

Anything that interferes with the function of the developing placenta poses a risk to your pregnancy, explains Prof Breathnach. “Smoking is a good example. Virtually every complication of pregnancy is observed more commonly in smokers.”

However, according to Prof Breathnach, much of the advice and guidance issued to pregnant women – advice such as avoiding exercise classes, or having your hair dyed – does not have any scientific basis.

“There’s a kind of historic conservatism that is part and parcel of an approach to pregnant women, who are frequently instructed to avoid certain foods or activities on grounds of ‘not knowing what effect this might have on pregnancy’. To me, that conservative approach, of issuing the same indiscriminate ‘best not’ advice to every pregnant woman, is easy but is enormously unfair,” she says.

“It is well recognised that regular heavy alcohol exposure in pregnancy can have toxic effects on the developing baby. I would advise women to avoid alcohol in the first trimester. Beyond that, while a ‘safe’ amount of alcohol exposure has never been defined, there is currently no evidence that an occasional glass of wine, for example, is harmful to the pregnancy.”

The best advice is for women to take a common sense approach to their lifestyle during pregnancy, adds Prof Breathnach.

“When it comes to travelling; I advise my patients that travel per se, including air travel, is safe in pregnancy but that it becomes more about where they are going than how they get there. There are some complex pregnancies that need to stay put, particularly after 22 weeks or so, but for everyone else I advise travel does not need to be avoided, but to stay in the developed world.”