An Evidence-Based Review

(of pregnancy restrictions)

There’s endless information, advice, and judgement about what you should and shouldn’t eat, drink, and do during pregnancy. It’s exhausting and each piece of advice (even in the medical literature!) seems to be contradictory. 

We’re tired of the under-the-breath comments and impulse to hide our bellies under our trench coats when we crave sushi, a latte, or the occasional glass of wine. We want to keep our baby safe, of course. We also want to know the facts so we can make the best decision for ourselves.

Thankfully, there are several great evidence-based reviews of common recommendations for pregnant women, so you can make educated decisions. 

One thing to keep in mind - it’s difficult, and in a lot of cases, unethical, for randomized control trials to be done on pregnant women. That’s the kind of research that would give us an end-all-be-all answer to a lot of these questions. But you can’t really convince a review board to give pregnant women large amounts of alcohol and caffeine to determine how much is too much. So, we’re relying on what is reported through observational studies such as these below. 

Ultimately, most of these decisions are up to you and your healthcare provider.

If you just want the headlines, but from a source you can trust

The Foods to Avoid When You’re Pregnant

This quick overview from the new NY Times Parenting blog has input from experts, including an OB/GYN, a food safety specialist, professors of food science and microbiology, and links to scientific articles.

If you want to read it directly from a scientific journal

Do’s and Don’ts in Pregnancy, Truths and Myths

This great review was written in 2018 by Nathan Fox, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Mount Sinai, was published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

If you’re interested in really digging in

Expecting Better by Emily Oster 

Emily Oster, an economist and mama, uses research to break down common pregnancy myths and gives you all the information you need to make the decisions that are right for you.