Caffeine Caffeine taken during pregnancy is thought to increase the probability of a child contracting diabetes. See also this article about coffee and tea. Be sure to tell your doctor if you have any contact with lizards, iguanas, turtles, or snakes as the salmonella virus is transfered through their feces and can affect your pregnancy. Also, children under the age of 5 are also at risk for contracting salmonella if they are in contact with reptiles. You Should Avoid Tick Bites Tick bites open you to the risk of lyme disease, which can be deadly to your developing baby.
Fish concentrate methylmercury, which is known to affect the developing child's brain.
The basic problem with junk food is that it fills you up but does not provide vitamins or protein. As your stomach size decreases during pregnancy, junk food takes up room and prevents you from eating the foods you really need for your and your baby's health. By consuming as little as 4 times the RDA of vitamin A, you greatly increase the risk of having a baby with birth defects or other problems. Exposure during the first trimester is the worst. Natural sources of vitamin A are OK - it is foods that are artifically supplemented that cause the problem, and most foods are.