Eating a balanced diet before and during pregnancy is not only good for the mother's overall health, but essential for nourishing the fetus. It is important to exercise regularly and maintain a proper weight before and during pregnancy. Women who are overweight may experience medical problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Women who are underweight may have babies with low birthweight. Take control of any current or preexisting medical problems, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
Most prenatal vitamins have the recommended levels of vitamins and folic acid.
Check with your physician. Avoid exposure to alcohol and drugs during pregnancy. Exposure to high levels of some types of radiation and some chemical and toxic substances may adversely affect the developing fetus. In addition, pregnant women should avoid all contact and exposure to cat feces and cat litter, which may contain a parasite toxoplasma gondii that causes toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis can cause a serious illness in, or death of, the fetus.