HealthPartners - Your guide to pregnancy

MAKING GOOD CHOICES

The more you know about how your lifestyle choices affect the health of your unborn baby, the easier it is to make good choices during pregnancy. To help you locate information in this section, we’ve listed the topics in alphabetical order.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS It’s usually considered safe to use small amounts of artificial sweetener while you’re pregnant. Some sugar substitutes deliver different amounts of “sweetness,” so you may be able to use less to get the

ALCOHOL Anything you put into your body will affect your baby. There is 50 years of research that confirms that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause birth defects, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, abnormal facial features, and intellectual disability in a baby. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder describes the many physical and mental changes that affect children born to people who drink alcohol during pregnancy. The extent of harm to your baby depends on how much alcohol you drink, the stage of your pregnancy, and certain sensitivities in both the parent and the baby. The effects of even small amounts of alcohol on an unborn baby are unclear.

same level of sweetness. These artificial sweeteners are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use during pregnancy:

COMMON SWEETENERS

Compared to Sugar 600 times sweeter

Brand

Packet Color

Splenda ® (Sucralose)

Yellow

During pregnancy there is no safe time, no safe amount, and no safe type of alcohol.

Equal ® and NutraSweet ® (Aspartame)

200 times sweeter

Blue

Sweet ‘N Low ® (Saccharin) NOTE: Other sweeteners may be slightly safer. Truvia ® and SweetLeaf ® (Stevia) South American plant-based sweetener

300 times sweeter

Pink

Green and White

250 times sweeter

Does not come in packet form yet

Sunnett ® (Acesulfame-K) Newest approved sweetener

200 times sweeter

BATHS You can take a bath while you’re pregnant, even during the last

months. The challenge during the final months of pregnancy is getting in and out of the bathtub safely. To lower your chance of falling when it’s harder to steady yourself, ask someone to help you get in and out of the tub or take showers instead of baths. If you think your water has broken, your provider may prefer you take a shower instead of a bath.

24 Your Guide to A Healthy Pregnancy