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Conquering Addictions

Breaking Bad Habits for a Healthy Pregnancy

By Laura Cone

A decade ago, the most common bad habits pregnant women had to kick included caffeine, after-dinner cocktails and cigarettes. But an increasing number of women have formed dependence on less obvious substances such as diet pills, attention deficit prescriptions, artificial sweeteners and processed foods.

Some women are able to break the habits because their desire to have healthy babies is stronger than their addictions. If at all possible, it's a good idea to kick a habit before becoming pregnant.

Patricia Wooster of Tampa, Fla., stopped smoking before she became pregnant with her children. She has a newborn child, Jack, and a 2-year-old, Max. "I smoked for 10 years," says Wooster, who also gave up caffeine. "I started exercising. When you exercise you don't want to smoke because you can't breathe."

She made small changes as well as major ones. Instead of having her usual martinis, she would make "mocktails" or nonalcoholic drinks with cranberry juice and seltzer water. "I switched over to decaffeinated coffee," Wooster says. "I'd still go to Starbuck's but I'd have decaffeinated instead."

To kick the smoking habit, she changed her routine. Rather than smoking on the veranda, she would have a movie night with her husband inside because she did not smoke indoors. Although she used to diet a lot before she became pregnant, Wooster never used diet drugs. She ate healthy foods instead of dieting during pregnancy.

Experts warn pregnant women not to use diet pills even if the products claim to be all-natural. Most diet pills contain caffeine, which may be listed as "guaranna." Ephedrine or "MaHuang" is also dangerous during pregnancy because it stimulates the nervous system and increases resting heart rate.

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