• Limiting the intake of caffeine (found in coffee, tea and certain soft drinks) is highly recommended as excess has been linked to early miscarriage.
• All alcohol, illicit drugs and cigarettes should be cut out completely.
• Watch out for all processed foods, especially those that contain high amounts of salt and sugar.
• Excess salt taxes the kidneys,. It can cause hypertension and exacerbate oedema. Always cook salt into the food in moderation, never sprinkled onto the food at the table.
• Fatty foods exacerbate nausea and heart burn; rich foods like chocolate, cheese cakes, puddings, sauces and even raw nuts, are hard to digest, and can leave you feeling bloated in your belly for an hour or two – and with a baby in there already, who needs that?
• Whilst protein and calcium requirements are high during pregnancy pulses, in excessive amounts, not thoroughly cooked, or eaten late at night, can cause uncomfortable wind and bloating.
• It has been the convention, both medical and popular for several generations, for women to believe that they should drink lots of extra milk during pregnancy. Drinking lots of milk for thirst, in the belief that this will boost protein and calcium, will indirectly reduce the amount of other fluids one tends to consume, and can lead to dehydration and constipation. It can also lead to excessively large and fat babies (and consequently difficult deliveries). It is better to drink water and herbal teas for thirst, and for the protein and calcium, increase such things as soy products, green vegetables, yoghurt and cheeses.

Special Pregnancy Needs
   So many health professionals these days are routinely prescribing vitamin and mineral supplements to the general populace in a bid to boost the ailing popular diet. As well, many of the most common processed foods available in the shops are now augmented with dietary supplements in a desperate attempt to make sure people – and particularly pregnant women – get their recommended daily minimum dose of vitamins and minerals.
   It is sad but true, that an inadequate diet and poor eating habits are now considered so endemic by the health and nutrition experts, that it seems many of them have given up encouraging people to eat a proper diet. One such “expert” recently had the audacity to claim – and I quote exactly – “It is impossible for a pregnant woman to source all her necessary folate and iron requirements

from food alone”. This is utter nonsense. If this were the case, reproduction of our species would have ceased long ago! I think what that short-sighted boffin probably meant, was that the popular, average, Western, processed, supermarket-supplied and frequent take-away modern diet no longer provides what is necessary. Is anyone surprised? So, rather than dietary improvement, his recommendation was that only chemical augmentation could guarantee the necessary balance.
   What kind of message is this giving women and girls growing into womanhood? Soon, the pressure will be increasing on all women of childbearing age to regularly swallow the following cocktail of pills:
• Iron. Prescribed to boost red blood cells, raising the haemoglobin level in case of post-partum haemorrhage. Also the baby’s iron stores up to the age of 2 are dependent on the mother transferring it during pregnancy. However, unless you require syntocin (also called syntocinon) for expedient delivery of the placenta, being tanked-up with iron “just in case” is not necessary. Iron is a highly toxic mineral which can damage the liver if over-consumed. Even when taken at the recommended doses it can cause constipation and headaches, indicating that the body was already not functioning correctly. Excessive haemoglobin, potentially brought about by over-supplementation of iron during pregnancy, can actually increase the likelihood of post-partum haemorrhage. Such things like a nose bleed, a heavy period, excess bleeding from an injury, are nature’s ways of rearranging our bodies to normal. Iron is best sourced in nature’s own balance from leafy greens, seaweeds, dried fruits, pulses, wheat germ, bran, yeast, nuts, seeds, parsley, molasses. Iron is most readily absorbed into the body in combination with Vitamin C, so if eaten along with lots of lovely fresh fruit and vegetables, then it will be utilised when and where it will be needed. All that sounds just like a balanced wholefoods diet to me.
• Folic Acid (Folate) . Folic acid aids cell division. Inadequate levels can cause defects such as Spina Bifida in the foetus during the first trimester. In fact damage to the foetus due to low folic acid can occur even before pregnancy is confirmed. Ensure that you are eating enough folate rich foods well before pregnancy. Don’t just imagine you can catch up when you find out you are pregnant. Folic acid is best sourced from yeast, whole grains, pulses, nuts, dairy products. Hmm, that also sounds just like a balanced wholefoods diet.