Alcohol passes through the placenta and can harm the unborn baby. Among other things, alcohol can negatively affect the baby's growth and brain development. It is recommended to avoid alcohol completely during pregnancy.

Fish is packed with nutrients essential to you and your baby. Fish contains fatty acids that are crucial to the development of your baby's brain. But some fish may contain environmental toxins, so choose carefully.

There are some foods you should avoid during pregnancy. Certain cheeses, meat and fish can contain listeria bacteria, the toxoplasmosis parasite or high concentrations of environmental toxins.

You're holding the pregnancy test in your hand and have just found out you're pregnant. Congratulations! This is the start of a long, exciting, fun, challenging and wonderful journey. It's already time to book an appointment with a midwife.

Being pregnant is a good reason to give up smoking – perhaps the best one you'll ever have. Smoking is harmful to the baby in the womb, during breastfeeding and if it inhales the smoke.

Pregnant vegetarians should be especially careful to eat enough iron and vitamin D, as well as the right types of fat.

Round half of pregnant women experience nausea during pregnancy, primarily in the morning. The nausea usually starts after about a month. It usually stops after about three months, although a small percentage of women experience nausea and vomiting throughout the whole pregnancy.

Although you are now eating for two, you shouldn't eat twice as much. Instead, you should eat larger amounts of certain foods while pregnant.

Miscarriage is usually a very traumatic experience for everyone concerned, at whatever stage of the pregnancy it occurs. It takes its toll both physically and psychologically. How people deal with the loss is highly individual, and it can be difficult for those around them to understand their pain. The grieving process takes time.

Pregnancy isn't always a bed of roses. A myriad of discomforts from heartburn to itching and nausea can actually make it quite a challenging time. Here is a list of pains and discomforts commonly encountered during pregnancy.

It's important to take care of yourself at this time. But even if you eat a healthy, varied diet, it can be hard to get enough folic acid, iron, vitamin D and calcium.

Whether you join a pregnancy fitness group or continue going to the gym, exercise won't only make you feel better right now, but will also help you during labour. Almost all exercise is good, but there are some things to bear in mind or avoid.