Pregnancy: Eating Healthy for 2

While healthy eating is important throughout your life, never does it make more sense than during pregnancy -- a time when you are not only taking care of your body, but also helping your baby to develop and grow.

But just as important as what you do eat, is what you skip. Also remember that certain "unhealthy" foods now can take on a new and sometimes more ominous meaning when you are pregnant.

"Foods that you might not be so worried about -- like caffeine or alcohol -- can become a worry once you are pregnant, simply because we don't have all the answers about what can and cannot affect a developing baby," cautions NYU Medical Center nutritionist Samantha Heller, MS, RD.

Diane Ashton, MD, assistant medical director of the March of Dimes agrees and adds: "I think most women are concerned about what they should and shouldn't eat, but I don't think we can repeat the information often enough -- particularly when it comes to the items that should be avoided."

To help make sure you know what you need -- and what you should avoid -- Heller and Ashton helped put together the following guide.

How much do you know about fetal development? Test your knowledge with this quick quiz.

The 5 Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy

No. 1: Alcohol

In the not-so-distant past some doctors suggested moderate drinking during pregnancy might be OK. Not anymore. In an advisory issued by the U.S. government in February 2005, U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, issued a warning that no amount of alcohol can be considered safe during pregnancy.

The reason, says Ashton is that "no one knows if there is a threshold for alcohol in pregnancy, and if there is, what it is, so it's better to just not drink any at all."

What doctors do know: Alcohol increases a baby's risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) -- a series of developmental problems that can affect a child's ability to learn throughout their lifetime. In its most extreme form fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) can cause varying degrees of birth defects and mental retardation.

Ashton says a rarer set of problems -- Fetal Alcohol Effects -- is also a risk.

"There's a whole spectrum of ways alcohol can affect the fetus -- it may not be a full-blown FAS but there may be low birth weight, small stature, a range of possible side effects," Ashton tells WebMD.

If your pregnancy was a surprise -- and you unknowingly consumed alcohol during the first several weeks after conception -- experts say don't panic. If you stop drinking the moment you discover you're pregnant, and meet your daily requirement of folic acid (400 micrograms) you can dramatically decrease your baby's risk of any serious consequences.

No. 2: Saccharin