When I was in graduate school, Bridget Swinney's book on infant feeding, "Baby Bites," was one of my textbooks for a course on pediatric nutrition. Later on in life, I returned to her book for help navigating the thorny waters of transitioning my own kids to solids.

Recently, I heard she had published a fourth edition of "Eating Expectantly," a veritable bible for pregnancy nutrition. So I rushed out to get a copy, devoured it in one sitting and stalked her online to score an interview for this column.

"Eating Expectantly" is misleadingly titled--it's not just a book about pregnancy nutrition, is it?

It's really a lifestyle book about the whole "pregnancy season," encompassing pre-conception, pregnancy and that post-baby time when nutrition is important for breastfeeding and getting back in shape.

[See Trouble Trying to Conceive? This May Be Why.]

While food plays an important role in having a healthy baby, environmental influences like chemicals also contribute to a developing baby's "diet" in utero. This fourth edition focuses on living "cleaner" to keep baby's environment safe.

Yes, I was impressed to see how much discussion you devote to cosmetic and household chemicals that may affect pregnancy outcomes. What should women be on the lookout for?

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can mimic, increase or decrease the action of hormones in the body. They are suspected as contributing to the worldwide decline in semen quality as well as physical abnormalities of the male reproductive tract. Such chemicals are found in amniotic fluid and semen and arrive there in the most innocuous of ways.

A person can be exposed to dozens of chemicals before she even leaves the house in the morning! People should read labels of makeup and household cleaners as closely as they would food labels. We're concerned about possible lead in lipstick; endocrine disrupting chemicals like phthalates in air fresheners, lotions, nail polish and cleaning products; Bisphenol-A (BPA) in canned foods; and pesticides on conventionally-grown produce.

[See How Safe Are Your Cosmetics?]

Read more from the original source:
The New Pregnancy Nutrition Rules