Pregnancy

Exercise gets your circulation going and prevents typical discomfort during pregnancy, e.g. back pain or venous problems. Taking a walk in the fresh air, going for a swim and getting some exercise is good for you!

Regular coffee, black and green tea as well as some soft drinks and energy drinks contain caffeine. This active substance enters the child’s bloodstream via the placenta, increases its heartbeat and affects its nervous system. Therefore, you should not consume more than 200 mg of caffeine per day, which is about two cups of coffee or three to four cups of tea. Caffeine-free coffee and tea are harmless, so you can drink more of these.

Tobacco and alcohol are not only harmful to your own health, but also to your child’s health. Therefore, you should not have any cigarettes or alcohol during pregnancy.

The same applies to other drugs, e.g. crack, cocaine, ecstasy or sleeping pills. If you are using heroin on a regular basis, substitution treatment is advisable during pregnancy. If you are already taking substitution medication, do not reduce the dose on your own. This could trigger premature contractions and increase the risk of HIV transmission to your child.

If you are taking drugs: talk to your doctor about it and visit a drug advice centre. Doctors and counsellors are bound by medical discretion.

STIs such as syphilis, gonorrhoea, hepatitis B, herpes or chlamydia pose a risk to your health and also endanger your child. Some pathogens can be transmitted to the child during pregnancy or delivery, and cause serious illnesses. Furthermore, such infections can cause premature delivery, which increases the risk of HIV transmission to the child. Therefore, it is important that sexual diseases are identified and treated as early as possible, and that you protect yourself from them: condoms and femidoms reduce the risk of contracting these diseases.