6. Eat well (but not for two)
Pregnancy is the time to make every calorie count. "Choose foods rich in nutrients such as protein, folate, calcium and iron that will nourish you and your baby," says dietitian Heather Blazier. High-fib er foods, including fruits, vegetables and whole gains, can help prevent constipation, a common problem during pregnancy. So can drinking plenty of water, which you also need to support your increased blood volume. Eating four or five mini-meals a day can help prevent heartburn and keep your blood-sugar (and, thus, energy) levels steady and prevent bingeing.
7. Stay safe
"Injuries are the leading cause of maternal death during pregnancy," says Andrea Carlson Gielen, Sc.D., Sc.M., director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Motor vehicle crashes are the most frequent cause of traumatic injury to pregnant women, and in a crash, those who aren't wearing seat belts are three times as likely to lose their baby as those who are buckled up. Adjust the lap belt across your hip-pelvis area and below your belly.
8. Get off your butt
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, unless they have medical reasons not to, all pregnant women should exercise a minimum of 30minutes a day, six or seven days a week. "The good news is that this amount of exercise can be done in small increments--for example, three 10-minute segments when morning sickness or pregnancy fatigue is high," says Cincinnati-based exercise physiologist Renee M. Jeffreys, M.S., co-author with OB-GYN Karen Nordahl, M.D., of Fit to Deliver: An Innovative Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness Program (Hartley & Marks, 2005).
9. Go green
The fetus is very vulnerable to environmental toxins, so minimize your exposure to chemicals, including those in commonly used household cleaners, pesticides, solvents and paints. Avoid lead dust, which can be generated during sanding and renovations in older homes.
"The most important pollutant for pregnant women to avoid is secondhand smoke," says Norman H. Edelman, M.D., chief medical officer for the American Lung Association. "It can cause your baby to be born smaller or prematurely, and might predispose him to asthma."
10. Try to stay calm "Laugh often, learn all you can about normal birth and stay away from people with scary birth stories," advises Marian Tompson, co-founder of La Leche League International and the mother of seven.
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