When you are pregnant, as with any other time of your life, there is the possibility that you might become sick, you might catch a simple cold or become ill with an infection or some other condition. Ordinarily you could take medications to make you feel better or to heal the infection, however during pregnancy it’s not as simple.

You may also take a regular medication for an ongoing health concern, prior to falling pregnant. It’s advised that you let your health care provider know that you are trying to conceive a baby so you can work out alternatives for your medications should they be contraindicated in pregnancy. For example, it is recommended that the mother wean slowly off anti-depression medications prior to falling pregnant as the medications can be dangerous to the growing foetus.

There are some illnesses however (such as epilepsy and diabetes) which require the mother to continue taking their medications during pregnancy. This is because the health risks to the mother not taking the medications outweigh the risks of taking the medication. For example, a pregnant woman having a seizure is considered far riskier than the possibility of her medications causing birth defects to her baby. In fact, up to 95% of babies born to epileptic mothers who take medication throughout their pregnancy are born normal and healthy even though the medications are known to cause birth defects.

The question then is, how do you make the decision which medications you can take during pregnancy?

There is a worldwide standard pregnancy rating for all medications and most prescribing medication books will provide your health care provider with this rating. If you are being prescribed a medication during pregnancy, you can ask your doctor what category the medication falls into, so you can be sure it is safe for your growing baby.

Category A - Controlled studies show no risk.

Adequate and well-controlled human studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the foetus in the first trimester of pregnancy (and there is no evidence of risk in later trimesters).

Category B - No evidence of risk in humans.

Animal reproduction studies have failed to demonstrate a risk to the foetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women OR Animal studies have shown an adverse effect, but adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women have failed to demonstrate a risk to the foetus in any trimester.

Category C - Risk cannot be ruled out.

Animal reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect on the foetus and there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks.

Category D - Positive evidence of risk.

There is positive evidence of human fetal risk based on adverse reaction data from investigational or marketing experience or studies in humans, but potential benefits may warrant use of the drug in pregnant women despite potential risks.

Category X - Contraindicated in pregnancy.

Studies in animals or humans have demonstrated fetal abnormalities and/or there is positive evidence of human fetal risk based on adverse reaction data from investigational or marketing experience, and the risks involved in use of the drug in pregnant women clearly outweigh potential benefits.

You will find that most doctors will try to limit their prescribing to categories A and B. Drugs in category C will only be prescribed after careful consideration and drugs from categories D and X are generally avoided altogether.

Please be aware that all drugs should be avoided unless absolutely essential in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy as this is the most risky time for fetal abnormalities to develop. Although Category A medications are deemed safe during pregnancy, they should be avoided as well during this time.

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Now winter is in full swing treat your bump and yourself to some in-season vegetables that are so much more fresh and nutritious than those that have been sitting in storage for months.

Here are two chicken recipe that make the best use of vegetables in season now.

Brown Rice Salad with in-season spring onions, capsicum, lemons, garlic and ginger

1 ½ cups brown rice, cooked
3 spring onions, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, seeded and chopped
½ cup raisins or sultanas
60g cashews, roasted and chopped
2 tablesspoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 chicken breast, cooked then cooled then sliced.
Soy Sauce Dressing (see below)

Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss thoroughly before serving.

Soy Sauce Dressing

¼ cup of olive oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
Pepper to taste

Place in a jar and shake well.

Curry Chicken Soup with in-season brown onion, carrot and turnip

4 tablespoons butter or oil
2 large chicken Maryland
1 brown onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 turnip, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
4 cloves
6 black peppercorns, lightly crushed
¼ cup lentils
3 ¾ chicken stock
¼ cup raisins or sultanas

1. Melt the butter or heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the chicken and brown. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

2. Add the onion, carrot, and turnip to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly coloured.

3. Stir in the curry powder, cloves, and crushed peper and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lentils.

4. Pour the stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Add the raisins or sultanas, chicken and any juices from the plate. Cover and simmer for about 1 ¼ hours.

5. Remove the chicken from the saucepan and discard the skin and bones. Chop the meat, return to the soup, and reheat. Check the seasoning before serving the soup piping hot.

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When it comes time to have your baby shower, there are so many different options for what you can do. Most baby showers however, will involve some silly games for the mum to be, her female friends & family members to play.

The prizes you choose for your baby shower games can be anything you can think of, generally though the prizes are pampering or baby related items. If the mum-to-be knows the gender of her baby perhaps your prizes can be pink or blue depending on the gender.

Following are a few of the most popular baby shower games.

My Water Broke

You need to set this baby shower game up a few days prior to the party. Collect some miniature plastic babies from a discount store. Freeze the babies in ice cube trays with some water.

On the day, hand each guest a plastic cup with a frozen baby inside. The aim of the game is for the baby to melt out of the ice cube, but without the player touching the cube itself. The guests can blow on their ice cubes or melt them any way they can think of without touching. The first person to have their baby to completely emerge from the ice cubes shouts “My Water Broke” and they receive a prize.

Don’t Say That!

This baby shower game is ongoing throughout the course of the party.

Give each guest a nappy pin to put on their clothing, as they arrive. They are also given a word that they cannot say, popular words are baby, mum, due etc. If the guest says the forbidden word and is caught out, the person that catches them out takes their nappy pin. At the end of the day, the guest with the most pins is the winner.

Some alternatives are to use dummies tied on ribbon as a necklace as opposed to pins. Or to make forbidden word, the name of the mum-to-be and everyone has to call her mummy for the day (mum-to-be has a different word & cannot say baby).

Guess Mum’s Size

This baby shower game has the mum-to-be stand in the middle of the room with her guests around her. Each guest has to estimate the size of mum’s tummy with a piece of string or ribbon. They are allowed to look at her but not go near.

After everyone has made their guess, the hostess of the party takes each of the guest’s strings and measures the mum-to-be around the biggest part of her waist. The guest with the closest length is the winner.

What’s In the Nappy Bag

This is another game that needs a little bit of preparation in advance. Purchase a nappy bag and a group of items that belong inside. For example, add a dummy, packet of wipes, nappy, singlet etc.

Give the guests a sheet of paper with numbers listed down the side (20 if you have 20 items). Tell the guests that they have to write down all of the items inside the bag. If they need to, each guest can have a feel inside the bag for 10 seconds to give them a helping hand.

Once everyone has filled in their answers, pull each of the items out of the bag one at a time and have the guests mark off one point for each item they correctly identified. The person with the most correct answers wins.

As a bonus to this baby shower game, the mum-to-be gets to keep the nappy bag and the contents as a gift.

Name the Baby Food

To play this baby shower game you need to purchase a few jars of different flavoured baby food. Number each of the jars on the base, write down what flavour is in each number jar and remove the labels.

During the baby shower, each guest has a small taste from each of the jars. On a piece of paper they are to write down which flavour they think is in each jar.

When everyone has had their guesses, reveal what was in each jar. The guests receive a point for each correct flavour and the winner is the person with the most correct guesses.

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Many people think that during pregnancy everything has to change. Fortunately, this is not the case. There are a lot of things that you did prior to falling pregnant that you won’t have to change at all during pregnancy.

Some of the following are concerns for a lot of mothers when they first fall pregnant and wonder if they can continuing with their daily activities during pregnancy.

Exercise

It’s great for mum to continuing exercising during pregnancy as it helps to keep her fit and healthy and ready for the marathon that is labour and birth. Walking, jogging and cardio exercise are all fine to do during pregnancy, so long as you were already doing it prior to the pregnancy. If you decide to start exercising once pregnant, that’s fine, but check with your doctor first about where you should start.

Alternatively you might like to do some specific pregnancy exercise classes. The two main options are water aerobics and prenatal yoga. Both are great exercise programs to get into during pregnancy as they are low impact but great for keeping you fit. Just make sure that if you decide to join a yoga class, you check that it is pregnancy friendly and if it’s not, let the instructor know that you are pregnant as some of the exercises might need to me modified to suit you.

Going out with friends

Some people worry about going out with their friends during pregnancy, particularly as they get closer to their due date, but as long as you are comfortable it’s perfectly fine to go out with friends. Going to concerts is still great fun when you’re pregnant as long as you’re not in the mosh pit getting bumped about. Going shopping can be more fun with friends during pregnancy as there’s an extra little person for you to spoil!

One recommendation is that as you near your due date you don’t stray too far from the hospital just in case you go into labour. In saying that, there’s no reason why you can’t go for an hour’s long drive with your partner or a friend, as long as there is someone with you to drive you back home if contractions start.

Going to work

Unfortunately during pregnancy it’s still perfectly fine for you to go to work, as long as you’re not a deep sea diver or sky diving instructor! More often than not, the concern for most women working during pregnancy is tiredness. If you’re on your feet at work all day you will want to make sure you rest up when you get home of an evening. Whilst you might not want to and would prefer to put your feet up at home, working during pregnancy is quite alright.

Eating the foods you enjoy

During pregnancy you will hear lots of people telling you what you can and can’t eat. There are some foods that should be avoided during pregnancy (including but not limited to deli meats, soft cheeses and soft serve ice cream), most of your day to day foods are perfectly fine for you to eat. Left overs for lunch are even perfectly acceptable as long as they are stored in the fridge right away and heated until they are piping hot.

Having sex

There are very few reasons why sex should be avoided during pregnancy and unless your doctor specifically tells you otherwise, you can still enjoy sex with your partner for the whole time you are pregnant. Towards the end of the pregnancy when you are feeling very big and uncomfortable you may need to alter your positions, but there is no reason that you need to stop enjoying a full and happy sex life during pregnancy.

Looking gorgeous

Maternity fashions have come a long way since our mothers were pregnant with us. Gone are the days of huge flowery dresses that look like sacks. Most large ships like Target and Big W etc carry a nice range of maternity clothes at decent prices or you can look into more specialized maternity fashion boutiques in real life or online. Whichever way you go, during pregnancy you can still look and feel great.

You can also continue to have your manicures and acrylic nails done and your hair and eyebrows dyed. Both are perfectly safe during pregnancy, though you need to be aware that both your hair and nails are likely to grow much faster when you are pregnant so you might need to make your appointments closer together. One consideration you might need to think about though is the smell of the salon, sometimes the chemical smells will affect your morning sickness so make sure you are ok for a little while before sitting down to a two hour hair appointment.

There are however still a few things that are not recommended during pregnancy, the main two being smoking and drinking alcohol.

Smoking

We all know that smoking at any time is dangerous to your health, but smoking during pregnancy affects not only your health, but your baby’s health as well. Smoking during pregnancy reduces the amount of oxygen that can get to your baby and can cause miscarriage and brain damage. Your baby may be premature and have a small birth weight as well as being at risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

It is advisable to quit smoking prior to falling pregnant, but if you find yourself unexpectedly pregnant before you have quit, you can still do so during pregnancy. Recent research has found that using a nicotine patch during pregnancy is safer as only one of the chemicals (ie nicotine) are getting into your blood stream, as compared with a multitude of others whilst actually smoking a cigarette. Please see your doctor if you are pregnant and want to quit smoking for some advice on how to proceed.

Drinking

Depending on which article you read, research is pretty divided about what is a safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy. We all know that in excess alcohol is very dangerous to the baby, but most women will wonder at some point during their pregnancy if they are able to safely have a glass or wine, especially if they are pregnant over the festive period.

You might like to abstain completely or you might choose to have a glass of wine here or there, just remember that drinking excessive amounts of alcohol during pregnancy is dangerous to your growing baby.

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Most people think that pregnancy signs are unmistakable and many women ‘just know’ when they are pregnant. But other times, pregnancy can come as quite a shock and those who have ‘symptoms’ were not even aware. There are a few common symptoms you could have to show you are pregnant.

The most obvious sign is if you miss your menstrual period. Although this is a common sign something is not as normal, it is not the only sign to say that you may be pregnant. Women can skip their cycle for a number of reasons and it may not be that you are pregnant.

Nausea is another common symptom women get whilst pregnant. Morning sickness is common among half of pregnant women and can occur at any time of the day. The sickness is usually brought on suddenly and can last for the first few weeks.

Another early sign of pregnancy is tender nipples and breasts. This tender felling usually disappears once your hormone levels have become accustomed to your body and the baby begins to grow.

If you have frequent urination and a high body temperature, it could also mean you are pregnant. Women often experience more urination as the changes in hormone levels produce the need to go. Body temperature may be high due to an increase at ovulation and may stay high for the first few weeks of pregnancy.

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Do you know what to expect from each of the three trimesters? Here is an overview of each with the common signs of pregnancy trimesters one, two and three.

Weeks one to 12: Pregnancy Trimester One

The first and most prominent pregnancy symptom is a missed menstrual cycle. You may see pinkish or brownish discharge that varies in colour and lightness. Other pregnancy symptoms include nausea, frequent urination, darker areolas, fatigue, heartburn, headache, mood swings and constipation.

Weeks 13 to 26: Pregnancy Trimester Two

As you progress through the second trimester, you will experience frequent kicking movements from the growing foetus. You will also gain weight, your breasts will grow and there may be discharge from your nipples. You may also sweat more than usual and notice dark lines develop on your skin between the navel and pubic area. The skin on your stomach will begin to stretch at this time.

Weeks 27 to 40: Pregnancy Trimester Three

The last 13 weeks of pregnancy involve having the body change to prepare for labour. The child will also grow large enough to be seen more clearly during the CAT scan. You will see your navel pushing out and will experience backaches. There will be some changes in how you walk to accommodate the weight of your child.

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Exercise is highly recommended for pregnant women as it helps prepare the body for the demands of a changing body and labour. The most popular exercise routines for women include swimming and brisk walking as well as special yoga classes, tai chi and pilates.

One of the lesser-known exercises that can work wonders for pregnant women is abdominal exercise. Although it may sound drastic, abdominal exercise during pregnancy yields good results. The abdominal muscles play a major role during childbirth and thus abdominal exercise during pregnancy reduce the ‘diastasis recti’ effect whereby the abdominal muscles get separated during pregnancy. Abdominal exercise during pregnancy will also reduce the likelihood of back pain by strengthening back muscles.

Before beginning abdominal exercise during pregnancy, it is worth discussing it with a doctor. Most doctors tell pregnant women to never engage in ‘lying face up’ exercises during the first trimester of the pregnancy period. The ideal routine is one that comes recommended by a doctor, as they will have a number of appropriate abdominal exercise routines to share.

Abdominal exercise during pregnancy has a number of benefits, including improved resistance to fatigue, improved posture, less ability to gain body fat, better sleeping habits, stronger back muscles, physical preparation for labour as well as faster recovery after labour.

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Like many issues to do with pregnancy, recommendations have changed on how much salt should be in your diet. Advice on this issue has taken a complete turn around from that given in the past.

Do not limit your sodium intake

You may have family and friends telling you that you need to limit your sodium intake during pregnancy as it was once thought to contribute to water retention and bloating. Now, experts believe the opposite - you should increase your sodium intake for a number of reasons, one being that it could actually be beneficial in helping maintain adequate fluid levels.

In a nutshell, progesterone level in your pregnant body causes an increased sodium content in your urine. You essentially wee out more salt when pregnancy. This needs to be replaced.

Sodium should not be restricted during pregnancy your doctor put you on a low sodium diet for specific medical reasons.

Iodine is important too

Pregnant women need higher levels of iodine, as a lack of this nutrient can retard normal development in a baby. Your body need it too to make essential thyroid hormones. If these are missing you can end up with an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter).

Not all salts are the same

Saying you need more sodium and iodine does not mean you can suddenly load up on junk and processed foods.

Standard table salt is chemically cleansed, highly refined, and contained in virtually every processed food you buy. Essential minerals are stripped during the processing to the point that iodide has to be added back in to prevent goiter as mentioned above.

Alternatively, unrefined sea salt is a naturally occurring complex of sodium chloride. Without all the processing, using sea salt means your body benefits from the inclusion of major minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and around 80 essential trace minerals.

So replace your table salt with sea salt but make sure it is genuine. Real sea salt is rarely white in colour, so choose products with differing colours as it is an indication of the salt’s mineral content.

In moderation

So, feel safe in the knowledge that you need some good salt in your diet. However, like many things in pregnancy, this should be done in moderation. The amount recommended to consume each day is quite small and therefore measured in micrograms. It is recommended that you consume 220µg of salt during pregnancy and 270µg while breastfeeding per day.

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If you are pregnant with your second baby you already know it is tougher second time round when you have a rambunctious toddler to keep up with. Those opportunities to rest when you need to are gone. Being tired all the time isn’t a happy or healthy situation for you and the rest of your family who may end up on the receiving end of your crankiness.

Here are some tips to getting your rest, important for a healthy pregnancy, during your busy days with your toddler.

1. Rest when your toddler is resting

You would have heard a million times the saying “mother sleeps when baby sleeps” and may have struggled to stick to it, thinking you could handle the sleep deprivation. Now, during pregnancy, it is quite important to force yourself to sit down, forget about the mounting chores, and rest while your toddler is resting.

2. Let others do the entertaining

Meet up with your friends who have kids as much as possible so your toddler can play with their kids while you try and sit back and relax.

Invite them around to your place as understanding friends will be more than happy to lend a hand in the entertaining.

Or, meet up in an indoor playground or fenced outdoor playground so your toddler can burn off energy while you sit and watch.

3. Encourage low intensity activities together

Precious time together with just you and your toddler will soon be in short supply. Take advantage of the time by engaging in activities that are restful for you but stimulating for your toddler like colouring in, making play dough together and then mucking around with it, doing puzzles, etc.

4. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself and your toddler to be ‘ready’

Minimising stress is important for a healthy pregnancy. You may have devised a To Do list in your head of where you would like your toddler to be by the time your new baby arrives, such as being potty trained.

However, a new baby in the house is notorious for unsettling a toddler. So, along with a commitment to what you are trying to do, like getting out of nappies, you also need a good dose of commonsense and flexibility. Don’t put pressure on yourself with a rigid approach to meet an impending date, where the new arrival may set all your progress back anyway; it will be doomed to frustration and stress.

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Fish is often cited as a super food and is important for your pregancy. Oily fish are rich in Omega-3, a fatty acid that is essential for our health and important for brain growth, the nervous system and eye development for your baby.  It cannot be made by your body itself so needs to be sourced by food. It is recommended that during pregnancy and when breast feeding women take in about 500 milligrams of marine sourced Omega-3 daily.

However, eating some oily fish pose serious risks to your pregnancy. Both the Heart Foundation and Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) express concern for pregnant women regarding the heavy metals that make their way into fish, in particular, mercury. See FSANZ's advice here.

Certain varieties of fish need to be taken in moderation to ensure high levels of mercury do not enter your body and thus your baby. It is advised to avoid these large fish as they are identified as potential mercury donors:

• Marlin
• Broadbill
• Flake (shark)
• Swordfish

In addition, catfish and sea perch need to be consumed in moderation.

Even canned fish has its problems, as Bisephenol (BPA) used to line the tin of canned fish has been linked to a variety of health problems and should be avoided as much as possible.

So, this is all getting confusing. On one hand we are advised to intake marine Omega-3, and on the other, warned of associated health issues. Here is ways to safely eat fish to get your important supply of Omega-3:

1. Consume any fish not listed above two to three times a week. Here is five oily fish that are small and considered a low mercury risk:

• Atlantic and Australian salmon
• Fresh rainbow trout
• blue-eye trevalla
• blue mackerel
• sardines

2. Limit fish to a serving size of around 150 grams.

3. An alternative would be one serving only of sea perch per week, and no other fish for that week, or one serve per fortnight of flake, billfish, marlin and broadbill per fortnight and no other fish for that fortnight.

This will provide adequate Omega-3 and help protect you and your baby from high mercury levels.

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