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Are you ready to learn what to avoid during pregnancy? Continue reading this. The pregnancy period is a crucial but sensitive time during which you should put into consideration what you do, this does not mean that pregnant women are special people but it means that they should behave in a special way. Being a pregnant woman you should consider, what you eat, how you dress, activities you conduct and the kind of exercises you do. Some of the things am about to tell you should stop with an immediate effect while others you should be cautious when involving yourself with during the pregnancy period. In this post you will find a number of activities and products you are supposed to use with caution or stop.
8 Things to Avoid During Pregnancy
#1. Massage and Acupuncture
Many people generally feel acupuncture and massage to be safe during pregnancy, there are specific times during the period of pregnancy when these complementary therapies should not be used, for instance it is not recommendable to massage you’re your abdomen during the first three months of pregnancy.
Generally it is safe to have acupuncture during pregnancy but you are recommended to lok for a qualified acupuncturist with a quantifiable training and experience with pregnant women. You should let your acupuncturist know that you are pregnant because some points of acupuncture which it is unsafe to use during the pregnancy period.
In case you are considering going for a complementary therapy it is crucial to let your doctor or mid wife know. If upon consulting them you decide to use a complementary therapy it is advisable to always consult qualified and registered practitioner.
#2. Cats – Get away in Pregnancy
There is a common infection called Toxoplasmosis that mostly occurs in birds and mammals which can cause serious problems in pregnancy. Toxoplasmosis infection is caused by a parasite which is mostly found in cat faeces or soil or cat litter contaminated with infected cat faeces.
There are very high chances of being infected with toxoplasmosis during the pregnancy period. In case you are infected with toxoplasmosis infection during the early stages of your pregnancy period, the chances of having a miscarriage are very high and if not miscarriage it can cause brain damage and blindness of the unborn baby.
The signs of toxoplasmosis disease are mild flu-like symptoms for instance, increased body temperature, pain in the muscles and sore throat. In most cases it is advisable that you visit an hospital for a test because many are the case when toxoplasmosis does not show any symptoms, though the pregnant women are not routinely screened for toxoplasmosis, it is crucial that you know how to prevent infection.
#3. Cleaning Products
Some of the cleaning products such as moth balls and toilet deodorant cakes contain a substance called naphthalene. Continued exposure to large naphthalene amounts can destroy blood cells hence causing haemolytic anaemia. The symptoms of haemolytic anaemia include, fatigue, vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea and loss of appetite. The unborn baby is in particular at a great risk if exposed to naphthalene.
It is advisable to check the labels of cleaning products to ensure that they have no safety warnings for pregnant women and also in case you use cleaning products, glues, paint or any other household chemicals, follow the safety directions on the label. Ensure that the room you are cleaning is well ventilated.
#4. Exercise – Stay fit during Pregnancy
It is highly recommendable that you are active and to stay fit during the pregnancy period, but you should visit your midwife or doctor regularly to ensure that you have no health problems which can prevent you from exercising. In case the doctor finds out that there are no health problems try to do a moderate exercise of 30 minutes for instance walking or swimming on most days of the week
It is important to do exercises because they help you stay at a healthy weight, relax, help you decrease the discomforts like back pain and varicose veins that affect pregnant women and also they make you stronger and fitter which is crucial for coping with pregnancy labour.
#5. Fake Tan
Fake tan contains an active ingredient called dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a non-toxic substance that reacts with the cells in the outermost layer of the skin and produces a brown pigment (colour) called melanoidin. Since the DHA does not go beyond the outer layer of skin and therefore it is not absorbed into the body.
Despite the fact that use of fake tan has no known dangers they can at times cause an allergic reaction. Due to this reason it is not recommendable to use fake tans during the pregnancy period because the changes in hormone levels can make the skin more sensitive than normal. In case you would like to use fake tans during your pregnancy period it is advisable to test the product on a small section of the skin in order to first find out if you have a reaction.
It is true that some fake tans contains sun protection but the sun protection factor tends to be very low. Continuous skin sensitivity during the pregnant period may mean that you are likely to burn, thus, you should use protection cream and stay away from the sun as much as possible.
Tanning pills and tanning injections should not be used, this is because the tanning pills contains high amounts of betacarotene and a chemical called canthaxanthin which have been tested and found to have dangerous side effects for instance, damage to the eyes and the liver. The tanning injections contains malanotan are not approved by the Therapeuting goods administration fr tanning and is classified as a prescription only medicine.
#6. Food – Avoid During Pregnancy
During the pregnancy period you must master your diet because there are some foods you are not recommended to eat because they might make you ill or even harm your unborn baby. It is important that you ensure that you know the important facts about which foods you should avoid or take extra care with during the pregnancy period. It is advisable that you eat freshly prepared food during the pregnancy period.
#7. Alcohol
Alcohol has adverse effects on your unborn baby and it is for this reason that there is no safe level of alcohol that you can have during your pregnancy period. It does not matter whether you are planning a pregnancy, already pregnant or breastfeeding, the best option is that you should not take any quantity of alcohol to avoid harming your small baby.
#8. Hair dye
Dyeing your hair may seem generally fit without any side effects according to various researches which have conducted. There are some studies whose research results go against this and conclude that very high doses of of the chemicals in the dyes may cause great harm to the unborn baby.
It is advisable if you are colouring your hair during the pregnancy period to, wear gloves, leave dye for the minimum time and also work in a well-ventilated room. The risk can also be redused by highlighting your hair, by putting the dye only onto strands of hair, also reduces any risk because these chemicals used should only be absorbed by your hair, and not by your scalp or bloodstream.
It is also advisable that you use Semi-permanent pure vegetable dyes, such as henna, because they have no extreme chemicals and for this reason they are safe. The main reason that you are advised to avoid hair dyeing during pregnancy is that the pregnancy can affect the normal condition of your hair.
During your pregnancy period in case you would like to apply dye on your hair it is always a good idea to do a strand test first, using the hair dye or treatment that you intend to use. You should also speak to your hairdresser for advice.
