Pregnancy is a beautiful experience that comes with its own sets of challenges. As your belly begins to grow, the excitement intensifies. You start envisioning how your baby will look, perhaps its name, or maybe future outings you’ll have. Truly, pregnancy is a gift.
Like any valuable gift, you want to preserve it. This means avoiding any possible dangers that could threaten the life of your child. Unfortunately, beverages that were perfectly find prior to getting pregnant are suddenly toxic during pregnancy.
If you’re currently pregnant, consider this list of beverages that could compromise the health of you and your baby.
- Caffeine
Caffeine, in all forms, should be avoided during pregnancy. Caffeine can make your baby have dramatically low birth weight. The same way caffeine suppresses appetite in an adult, it does the same to an unborn baby. Doctors recommend dramatically cutting your caffeine intake to avoid this problem.
- Alcohol
Alcohol should be avoided at all costs during pregnancy. Unfortunately, this beverage is the leading cause of fetal alcohol syndrome in newborn babies. The statistics on FADS are troubling and ever rising. It’s highly recommended to avoid this drink all together to avoid birth defects and possible death.
- Tea with Parsley
Parsley is a natural herb that actually induces abortion in early pregnancies. Ancient indigenous tribes were known for concocting these infamous teas. It is recommended to avoid beverages with this herb in it as it could present major health issues between you and your unborn child.
Parsley is also known to cause contractions in later pregnancy, leading some women to ingest it on purpose toward the end of their pregnancy. The best way to track contractions once you go into labor is either the old-fashioned paper and pencil or an app developed for this purpose.
- Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass is full of nutrients that are beneficial to the body. However, wheatgrass, although healthy, also holds a host of bacteria. Often times, companies cannot regulate how much bacteria is actually in that serving of wheatgrass. Therefore, it’s deemed harmful for pregnant women as they are exposing their baby to measures of bacteria. It’s best to avoid this altogether.
- Ginseng
Beverages with ginseng have been found to change the embryo structure in rats. Although current research hasn’t been conducted on humans, doctors recommend avoiding this drink all together so as to avoid possible issues.
- Apple Cider
Unpasteurized apple cider is extremely dangerous to pregnant women. Items that aren’t pasteurized contain a lot of bacteria that can be harmful to the baby. Consuming large amounts of this drink could lead to birth defects, low weight and potentially death in severe instances.
- Soda
Soda contains a lot of caffeine and sugar that could be harmful to an unborn child. In addition, sodas contain a lot of chemicals that cause potential complications in pregnancy. It’s recommended to drink natural soda or eliminate it all together.
You want to make sure your pregnancy is smooth from start to finish. This means being conscientious of what you consume so as to protect the health of you and your baby.
One way to remain conscientious throughout your pregnancy is to pay close attention to what you consume. Staying healthy is important for both you and your baby, so talk to your doctor about what is and is not safe for you to eat and drink.