24 Dos and Don’ts for a Healthy Pregnancy

While some advice on what to do and not to do during pregnancy is common knowledge, other recommendations might surprise you.

We’ll clarify the dos and don’ts of pregnancy and give you tips for navigating these 9 months safely.

Before getting into everything you can’t do while you’re pregnant, let’s look at what you absolutely should do over these 9 months.

From the first trimester to the last days of your pregnancy, you should:

1. Eat a balanced diet and take prenatal vitamins

One of the best ways to look after yourself and your baby is to maintain a solid pregnancy diet full of vitamins and minerals.

However, since pregnancy increases your need for certain nutrients that can be difficult to get from food alone, you’ll also have to take prenatal vitamins to fill the gaps.

Most prenatal supplements contain: 1

• Folic acid: This is one of the most important nutrients during pregnancy. It prevents your baby from developing congenital disabilities in her brain and spine.
• Iron: This is essential for your baby’s development, as well as for preventing you from developing anemia (an all-too-common issue for moms-to-be).
• Calcium: This mineral helps build your baby’s bones and teeth. Moreover, getting enough calcium during pregnancy protects your own bone density.

Many prenatal vitamins also include omega-3 fatty acids like DHA, which are essential for your baby’s brain development.

While these supplements are important, don’t take more than your doctor recommends. Taking extra doses can lead to an excess of certain vitamins, like vitamin A, which can actually harm your baby instead of helping. 2

2. Rest and sleep well

Pregnancy fatigue is no joke. Your changing hormone levels, frequent physical discomfort, and anxiety about your baby’s well-being may make getting enough rest and sleep challenging.

You can think of this tiredness as your body’s way of telling you to rest up, which is exactly what you should be doing.

Try to get 7–9 hours of sleep each night. If you’re tired during the day, listen to your body and take a nap. You may find that a consistent bedtime routine will help your body know when it’s time to wind down.

3. Stay active with safe exercise

While you’ll need to rest a lot during pregnancy, that doesn’t mean you should spend these 9 months lying on the couch all day. Regular exercise can bring you relief from common pregnancy symptoms like lower back pain and constipation, reduce your risk of gestational diabetes, and boost your overall fitness, as well as improve your chances of being able to have a vaginal delivery (not a C-section).

If you were active before pregnancy, you should be able to continue your regular routine with a few modifications. Talk to your doctor about any adjustments you should make as your body changes. If you’re new to exercise, now is a great time to start.

Ask your doctor to help you find a safe and comfortable program, such as walking, swimming, or prenatal yoga. Most important of all, listen to your body; if you feel tired or overexerted, stop exercising immediately.

4. Get vaccinated

Despite what you may have read online, most vaccinations during pregnancy are perfectly safe and will protect you and your developing baby.

When you get vaccinated, your body creates protective antibodies that get passed on to your baby, giving her short-term immunity after birth. That’s necessary, since she won’t be able to get certain immunizations until she’s at least a few months old.

During pregnancy, you can safely get the following vaccines: 3

• Flu shot
• Tdap (to protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough)
• RSV
• COVID-19

These are all vaccines that contain inactive viruses, so they’ll be perfectly safe for you and your baby.

Moreover, although it’s not a vaccine, you’ll need to get a RhoGAM shot if you and your baby are Rh-incompatible (e.g., you’re Rh-negative and your baby is potentially Rh-positive). Without this, your antibodies could attack your baby in the womb. 4

5. Keep up with your dental care

Poor oral hygiene can cause pregnancy complications, so don’t forget to look after your dental health.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that you get routine oral health assessments and cleanings during pregnancy. 5 Just let your dentist know that you’re expecting so they can take any necessary precautions (e.g., with the kind of anesthesia they give you).

While you should focus on developing healthy habits during pregnancy, knowing what to avoid is just as important for protecting your developing baby.

Here are 10 things you can’t do while you’re pregnant:

1. Smoking

This is non-negotiable. Exposing your developing baby to tobacco increases her risk of all types of miscarriage, as well as issues like: 6

• Low birth weight
• Premature birth
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) after she’s born

Moreover, babies born to people who smoke are also more likely to become smokers themselves later in life.

2. Drinking alcohol

Similarly, there is no safe amount of alcohol you can consume during pregnancy. Drinking can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which puts your developing baby at risk of:

• Developmental delays
• Behavioral problems
• Physical disabilities

For that reason, you can’t drink wine, beer, or any other kinds of alcohol when you’re pregnant.

If you accidentally drank a little alcohol before you realized you were pregnant, try not to panic. Your baby will probably be fine. Just be sure to stop drinking entirely as soon as you know that you’re expecting.

3. Eating raw meat or fish

Sorry, sashimi lovers. Raw fish and meat, along with undercooked poultry, are some of the most important foods you should avoid during your pregnancy.

Since your immune system is weaker when you’re pregnant, you’re far more vulnerable to foodborne illnesses. These can be dangerous to both you and the baby.

Raw meat, poultry, seafood (like sushi), and eggs can harbor harmful bacteria and parasites, such as listeria, salmonella, and toxoplasma. These can all cause serious infections that may lead to miscarriage or severe congenital disabilities.

Always cook meat, fish, and eggs until they reach a safe internal temperature. You can check out this table to see the safe temperatures for different animal products: 7

4. Eating high-mercury fish

While many types of seafood are healthy, many fish contain high levels of mercury, which can harm your baby’s developing nervous system.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it’s safe to eat these fish in moderation (that means a few servings per week, but not at every meal): 8

• Anchovies
• Atlantic mackerel
• Catfish
• Crab
• Haddock
• Lobster
• Pollock
• Salmon (wild or organically farmed)
• Sardine
• Shrimp
• Squid
• Tilapia

Stay away from larger fish, including marlin, shark, bigeye tuna, and swordfish. These are higher on the food chain and tend to accumulate much more mercury in their bodies.

6. Consuming unpasteurized food or drinks

In general, you should steer clear of most unpasteurized (raw) milk, cheese, and juice, which can contain harmful bacteria.

Some forms of unpasteurized cheese (particularly hard cheeses like parmesan) are safe, but you should heat them until they reach 165ºF.

Fortunately for dairy-lovers, you can safely eat all kinds of pasteurized cheese when you’re pregnant. Always check the label before eating to ensure the cheese you’re buying is pasteurized.

7. Using a hot tub or sauna

Although a warm bath may seem like a great way to soothe your pregnancy aches and pains, you’ll need to avoid extremely high temperatures.

Stay away from activities that could raise your core body temperature, like soaking in a hot tub or sitting in a sauna. Overheating, especially during your first trimester, can increase your baby’s risk of neural tube defects. 9

Keep your bathwater warm, not hot, and skip the hot tubs until after you’ve given birth.

8. Participating in contact sports and other high-risk activities

You should avoid playing sports like soccer, basketball, and hockey, as you’ll be at risk of getting hit in the abdomen or colliding with another player.

You’ll also have to skip any other activities that put you at risk of falling, including:

• Downhill skiing
• Snowboarding
• Horseback riding
• Gymnastics
• Surfing
• Rock climbing

Even if you’re a seasoned pro at these activities, the risk is too high. You can get back to them once you’re no longer pregnant.

9. Riding roller coasters or waterslides

If you’re something of a thrill-seeker, you’ll be sorry to hear that roller coasters, waterslides, and other thrill rides aren’t safe during pregnancy.

The sudden, jarring movements of roller coasters and bumper cars and the forceful landings from water slides could potentially lead to placental abruption, a major pregnancy complication that occurs when your placenta prematurely separates from your uterus.

10. Going scuba diving

You’ll also want to skip scuba diving while you’re pregnant, as the pressure changes that occur when you dive can cause dangerous gas bubbles to form in your baby’s blood vessels, leading to decompression sickness. 10

As for freediving, there isn’t enough research to determine whether it’s safe for pregnant women. To be on the safe side, you’re best off avoiding it during your pregnancy. 11

If you’re desperate to get in the water, you’ll be glad to know that snorkeling is a safe alternative.

Although there are plenty of things you should avoid entirely, you don’t have to be black and white about everything you do. You can do the following 4 things while you’re pregnant, so long as you exercise a little extra caution:

1. Eating deli meats

Cold cuts, hot dogs, and other deli meats can carry listeria, and even the counters and slicers at the deli can harbor it.

However, you can still eat deli meats when you’re pregnant—if you heat them until they’re steaming hot (165ºF) first.

On a related note, as a general rule, you should avoid eating food that’s been left at room temperature for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if the room is hotter than 90ºF). 12

2. Personal care and beauty treatments

Looking and feeling your best can be a great mood-booster during pregnancy. While you don’t need to forgo all those trips to the salon, you’ll have to take a few extra precautions:

• Hair coloring and perms: Most experts agree that, after the first trimester, it’s safe to dye or perm your hair when you’re pregnant. To be extra cautious, ensure you’re in a well-ventilated space. You can also opt for highlights or balayage, which minimizes contact with your scalp.
• Manicures and pedicures: While it’s generally safe to get your nails done, make sure you visit a well-ventilated salon so you don’t inhale any chemical fumes.
• Massages: You can treat yourself to a relaxing prenatal massage to get relief from aches and reduce stress. That said, you should always go to a certified prenatal massage therapist who’s trained in safe techniques and knows how to position you the right way.

3. Doing DIY

If you’ve started nesting during your pregnancy (e.g., frantically cleaning and organizing your house), you may want to finally get around to those household tasks you’ve been putting off. However, even chores around the house may require a second thought during pregnancy.

If you’re doing DIY, take these precautions:

• Use water-based paints instead of solvent-based ones
• Keep any rooms you’re working in well-ventilated by opening windows and using fans
• Wear protective gloves and a mask so you don’t expose yourself to toxic chemicals
• Be extra careful on ladders, as your center of gravity shifts during pregnancy, which puts you more at risk of falling

You should also be cautious about lifting too much during pregnancy. Most doctors recommend not lifting more than 20 lb. However, how much you can safely lift when you’re pregnant will depend on how active you were before your pregnancy and how far along you are. 13

4. Caring for a cat

If you have a cat, you shouldn’t be the one to empty its litter tray. Cat feces can harbor the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which can cause toxoplasmosis. This infection is particularly dangerous to your developing baby, as it can put her at risk of: 14 15 16

• Hearing loss
• Vision loss, crossed eyes, or uncontrollable eye movements
• Mental and learning disabilities
• Seizures
• Enlarged liver and spleen
• Pneumonia
• Infection, fever, and rash
• Miscarriage or stillbirth

If you absolutely must clean the litter box yourself, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately afterward.

Amid all these rules and recommendations, don’t forget to enjoy yourself. If you’re looking for ways to have fun during your pregnancy, you can try out these 5 activities:

• Take a “babymoon”: Take a relaxing trip with your partner, your family, or friends before your baby arrives. You could tick off a bucket list destination or opt for a spa day closer to home. Many moms opt to take a babymoon in their second trimester, before they can no longer fly or get extra tired in the later stages.
• Try prenatal yoga: Prenatal yoga has plenty of benefits, from keeping you active to teaching you relaxation techniques you can use during labor and delivery.
• Document your pregnancy: Start a pregnancy journal or schedule a maternity photoshoot so you have something to look back on.
• Design your baby’s nursery: Unleash your creativity by planning and decorating the baby’s room.
• Meet up with other moms-to-be: Try to connect with other pregnant moms, either in person or online. Sharing your experiences with those in the same boat can ease any anxieties you may have, and you might even pick up useful tips.

While you may have to think twice about that sliced turkey sandwich or hold off on your scuba trip to the Maldives when you’re pregnant, don’t be dismayed. Making these sacrifices during your pregnancy will give you and your baby the best chances of staying healthy and happy.

If you’re ever unsure of what’s safe and what’s not when you’re pregnant, you can always reach out to your doctor. Remember that being pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy yourself. You may just have to get a little more creative!