What should I avoid during the 1st trimester?

What should you avoid during the 1st trimester? It can be so hard to know. There are often so many dos and don’ts when it comes to pregnancy, that even reading about them can start to feel overwhelming in itself.

Let’s break them down to the most important when it comes to the 1st trimester, without getting all stressed about it.

What should you avoid during the 1st trimester?

Dodgy food

Do any pregnancy research and you’ll end up with a verrrry long list of foods you shouldn’t eat during pregnancy. Soft cheese, deli meats, sushi, pre-packaged salads, etc.

The bottom line though is – you’re trying to avoid food that has a high chance of containing bacteria that can make you and your baby sick.

Some will choose to avoid these foods at all costs. Others happily continue to eat them but wisely… Eg. making sure that any of these high risk foods are eaten fresh or cooked well.

Doing too much

While you may not look (or even feel) very pregnant in the first trimester your body is doing a bloody lot during this time. It’s literally growing a brain and heart and tiny fingers and toes and all the other body parts… from scratch.

This is why you’re feeling so flipping tired. And why you should take your body’s advice and rest as much as you can. There are no prizes for doing too much in the 1st trimester.

If you’d like to practice a gentle 1st trimester yoga class to help you slow down, try the video below.

Getting too hot

You may have noticed that your body temperate is all over the place now that you’re pregnant. This is because your body is working so much harder than it normally does. Do your best to keep cool as much as possible during the 1st trimester. Too much heat will likely only make your morning sickness and fatigue worse.

Avoid getting too hot when exercising (by taking breaks when you need). Skip the hot baths, saunas or hot yoga.

Putting pressure on the belly

While your baby won’t even notice the pressure on your belly during the 1st trimester (because they’re so tiny and well protected in the womb), it’s best to avoid this for your own comfort.

Put aside those jeans that you have to suck in to get into. Avoid exercises that have you lying on your belly. Switch to sleeping on your side.

Anything that’s not good for you

It’s safe to say that anything that isn’t good for you, isn’t good for your baby. This is probably the easiest (and most stress-free way) of knowing what is right and wrong during the 1st trimester.

Alcohol

Junk food (a little side note here. When you’re feeling nauseous .. just do your best. Try to add a little fresh fruit and veg in where you can but if all you can stomach is plain white bread, than do that.)

Smoking

Stress

Lack of sleep

Toxic cleaning products

Essentially if you do your best to care for your own body well, your baby will be happy and thriving. And I think that’s a pretty good perspective to take into motherhood as well. The self care starts with you.

Enjoyed this yoga class and want to know more about practicing yoga during the 1st trimester? I’ve written about it here.