Being with someone you know and trust and being treated with respect are important. Sometimes the doctor, the receptionist, or a nurse or technician makes you feel bad. If that happens, tell the person about what he or she is doing that you don't like. Ask to be treated more politely. If that doesn't work, ask to speak to his or her supervisor and tell that person, as calmly as you can, what happened. Keep going up the ladder as long as you are unsatisfied. Mature adults won't get back at you; they will repsect you more for it. If you get no satisfaction, try another clinic.

     A woman who cares about having a healthy baby should stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol, coffee, tea, and soda, and cut out all pills; even aspirin, tranquilizers, antibiotics, and antihistamines and diuretics may harm the baby. Even vitamins can harm a baby if you take too many. Too much of a vitamin can be just as harmful as too little.

Alcohol is the number one cause of preventable birth defects. The second cause of preventable birth defects is tobacco. If you are a smoker, you should stop, and if you are a nonsmoker, you should avoid smoke from other people's cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Other things to stay away from are fumes from cars, trucks, and buses, aerosol sprays, cleaning fluids, and paints.

1. Four glasses of milk a day is the first thing a pregnant woman should make sure she has in her diet. If it's hard to drink all that milk, some of it can be in the form of cheese, ice cream, and yogurt. This is for calcium to make strong bones and teeth for the baby without taking away the calcium the mother needs for her own health. It is also for protein, which the whole body needs.
2. Meat, fish and other seafood, eggs, beans, unsalted nuts, seeds, whole-grain breads and cereals, and the skins of baked or boiled potatoes are all good sources of protein, as well as iron.
3. Green and yellow vegetables, every day. They add fiber, iron and vitamin A.
4. Breads, grains, and cereals are good sources of vitamin B, protein, carbohydrates, and minerals. Whole-wheat bread, bran bread or cereal, brown rice, oatmeal and oat bread, bulgur wheat and kasha are all healthful choices.
5. Be sure to have orange, tomato, grapefruit, or cranberry juice every day.

Things not to eat include potato chips, salted nuts, party snacks, fried foods, cake, pies, and cookies.

     If you are just a few months pregnant, sometimes just the thought of food may make you feel sick. It is a feeling of nausea, sometimes with vomiting. Usually it's gone by mid-morning. The best thing to do for it is to keep some plain crackers beside your bed and eat them slowly before getting up. Take crackers to school or work in case the nausea comes back during the day. A woman may need to tell her school nurse or provide a note from the doctor so that she can leave the class quickly if she's feeling nauseated.

     Pregnant women keep right on doing most of the things they normally do. They keep on going to shcool or work and stay active if they're used to being active.

Try not to do any lifting, pushing, or pulling of heavy objects. Climbing up ladders and standing on chairs to get things from high shelves are not good to do either, because your extra weight may throw you off balance.

A walk in the fresh air every day is one of the best and safest exercises for someone who is pregnant. A mile a day is a good goal; in a city this is only ten blocks and back again. You may feel sleepy in the daytime. If you can, take a nap after school or during lunchtime.

     Eating good food and getting plenty of rest and exercise also helps to keep you from getting colds, sore throats, and other infections. Stay away from people with any disease or infection.

Teeth need special care during pregnancy. See a dentist or dental clinic to have teeth cleaned and cavities filled.

     Most doctors say there is no medical reason not to have intercourse during pregnancy, except perhaps during the last month or two. If the baby's father is part of your life and you are planning to keep the baby and raise it together, then you will probably continue your sexual relationship. If you do have sex during pregnancy, use condoms to prevent diseases that could harm you or your baby.

     For many women the first sign that they are pregnant is that their bra's get too tight. Buy two cotton maternity bras - one to wash and one to wear. Stay away from tight jeans and anything with tight elastic around the legs or waist. Low-heeled shoes are best, but sneakers will probably not give you enough support. Your shoe size will probably change as you gain weight.

Call the doctor right away if any of these things happen:

1. Stomach pains.
2. Bleeding or spots of blood from the vagina.
3. A very bad headache that doesn't go away.
4. Sudden swelling of the face and hands.
5. Heavy vomiting that doesn't stop.
6. Breaking of the bag of waters so that fluid escapes from the vagina. (This is supposed to happen just before birth begins. If it happens earlier, it's a sign of trouble.)