skip to navigation
Pampers® Village a place to grow

Expert Q&A:
Will eating forbidden foods affect fetal development?

0   people commented
on this article
 
22
 
0
Margaret Freda
Answered by Margaret Freda Ed.D., R.N., C.H.E.S., F.A.A.N.
"I've been a professional nurse working with pregnant women and parenting families since 1966," says Margaret Comerford Freda. "Pregnant women and parents need to know as much as possible about their own health and that of their children."

Margaret Comerford Freda, Ed.D., R.N., C.H.E.S., F.A.A.N., is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics &; Gynecology and Women's Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, and also serves as Director of Patient Education Programs for that department. Since 1993, Dr. Freda has been the Consultant for Nursing at the National March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation and the Chair of the National March of Dimes Nurse Advisory Council. In addition, Dr. Freda serves as the editor of MCN, The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing.

Dr. Freda received her Master's Degree in Nursing from New York University and her doctorate in Health Education from Columbia University. She has worked in women's health for her entire professional career. Dr. Freda has published 50 research articles in professional journals, and is a frequently invited speaker at nursing and medical conferences. She has written two books: Perinatal Patient Education, published by Lippincott Williams &; Wilkins, and Miscarriage After Infertility, published by Fairview Press, written with her daughter Carrie Semelsberger, who is also a nurse.

Dr. Freda has received several noteworthy awards, such as the Distinguished Professional Service Award and the First National Award for Excellence in Nursing Research from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the Woman of Distinction Award and the Maternal Child Nurse of the Year Award from the March of Dimes, the Patient Care Award for Excellence in Patient Education from the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Research Recognition Award from Molloy College, and several Outstanding Research Paper awards at national conferences. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Council for the March of Dimes, and was selected to serve on the Select Panel of the Centers for Disease Control to advise on prenatal health. Dr. Freda has developed patient education booklets and videotapes that are now distributed nationally.

Dr. Freda has been married for four decades. She has two daughters, two sons-in-law, three grandsons, and a granddaughter.
Read bio Hide bio Hide

Question


Will eating forbidden foods affect fetal development? Read on and see how our experts have answered this question, and others like it.

Answer


I don't think you should be worried at all. Most women don't even know they're pregnant when they're 3 weeks along, so they are eating anything they want! I think now that you know you're pregnant, you should just start eating the things you know are good for you, and avoiding the things are bad (such as high fat junk foods). The foods you ate are not known to actually interfere with fetal development but may pose a higher risk of infectious disease than other foods or, in the case of caffeine, may be harmful in high doses. It is recommended that they be eaten in moderation or not at all during pregnancy just to err on the side of caution. Disease caused from eating soft cheese, consuming mercury in fish, or getting sick from bacteria in raw meat is not common, but avoiding those things from now on is still the best policy.

ADVERTISEMENT
 
 
0
Member comments

You might also like

A soft and strong wipe for a refreshing clean

Find out about: Pampers® Natural Clean Wipes
Pampers® Natural Clean Wipes