Your baby’s development
Your baby is now around 2-2.5 cm long and weighs 2-3 grams. Muscle fibres are forming and the arms and legs are growing fast and already moving around. You will not be able to feel these jerky movements for another few weeks yet. The arms can already flex at the elbows and wrists! There is more activity too – turning their head, curling their toes and opening and closing their tiny mouth. The eyelids are forming (although they can’t open yet) and the ears are developing.
Antenatal classes are a long way off but if you’ve got a particular class, child birth educator or a specific time in mind it’s a good idea to book your place well in advance. There are many different types of antenatal classes available – evening, weekend, hospital or private classes.
Your health care professional should be able to tell you more about options in your area.
You & your body
Healthy eating during pregnancy is as much about what foods to avoid as what foods to eat.
Food handling and food safety during pregnancy are very important because food-borne illness such as listeria can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, illness or sadly death in extreme cases.
Pregnant women should eat a varied diet including foods from each of the five food groups every day taking into account that energy requirements increase by 12% in pregnancy.
Pregnant women and their families should purchase, prepare, cook and store food correctly to ensure food safety. In addition, the following list of foods should be avoided to reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses which can cause miscarriage, stillbirth and other serious consequences to mother and baby.
- Undercooked or raw eggs or foods likely to be made with them, (including home-made mousses, ice cream and mayonnaise, all of which may be made with raw eggs). Eggs should be cooked until hard.
- Undercooked or very rare meat and fish – there should be no pink bits left (even if that’s the way you usually like it!)
- Raw fish or meat in dishes like sushi or steak tartare, and smoked salmon or oysters
- Processed, fermented, smoked or marinated meats like ham, salami, luncheon, biltong or beef jerky
- Unpasteurised milk, cheese or yoghurt
- Soft cheeses like brie, camembert, ricotta, or blue vein cheeses (ordinary cheddar cheese or cottage cheese is fine, as long as they are pasteurised – check the label!)
- Pâté or liver
- Check that any ready meals or reheated foods are piping hot all the way through before you eat them.
- Take care at barbecues where meat is often allowed to rest for a period of time before serving
- Cream or custard in bought cakes or slices
- Salads which have been ready made or bought from a deli or lunch bar
For further guidelines click her to go to NZFSA website or Food Authority NSW website