5 Pregnancy Don’ts That We Definitely Do
Every pregnant woman has a moment - in the midst of doing something they've always done - when they find out that very thing has been decreed by someone to be totally verboten in pregnancy.
For me, it was drinking green tea. As I was warming my hands around a cup during my first pregnancy, I decided to see what great benefits green tea gives pregnant women, so I Googled it - Googling, of course, always brings up a wealth trouble when it comes to pregnancy health.
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And there on the pages of Google, I found out that drinking green tea can reduce a woman's folate levels. I, of course, then imagined I was damning my unborn child to birth defects thanks to my love of a morning cup of green tea.
A totally overblown reaction, of course (moderation in all things!), but when it comes to the health of your unborn baby - especially your first - you want to do no wrong. The second time around, I'm a little more moderate in my views, and here are five common pregnancy don'ts that I do.
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1. Drink coffee. A non-pregnant friend was recently shocked to learn pregnant women can drink coffee. I did actually give it up for a week when in the deepest lows of morning sickness; it was a very miserably week. Now that my nausea has stabilized, I find that a half cup of coffee in the morning after breakfast mixed with milk (normally I prefer it black) pretty much makes my day. If I'm out, I'll get a small single-shot cappuccino.
2. Eat lunch meat. No, I'm not talking about the pre-cut kind that comes in a plastic tray in the grocery store or something that comes off a dirty slicer in a bodega. I'm talking about high-quality lunch meats from a reputable deli that I put in my refrigerator and make into sandwiches myself.
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3. Dye my hair. I am waiting until the second trimester to attack the gray hairs that have been creeping in with a semi-permanent dye, and I'm going to have it done by a salon owner who has given dye jobs through both of her pregnancies.
4. Lay on my back. OK, maybe not at 9+ months, but the hysteria regarding laying on your back for a few minutes really confounds me. If it feels better to lay on your back and it doesn't make you feel sick … listen to your body!
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5. Stand on my head. Don't even get me started on the advice the online world will give you in regards to yoga and pregnancy. Many sites act as if yoga should be done while pregnant only with extreme kid-glove caution. I did headstands against a wall into my third trimester with my last kid, and it felt great.
What about you? What "rules" do you break while pregnant? Let us know!
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