When pregnant...

[hardworkinmama]

Sleeping on the left side is recommended if you have heart burn due to the natural slope of the esaphagus (sp?). The rest you can throw out the window. I took hot showers and pumped my own gas throughout my pregnancy and paid absolutely no attention to what kind of preservatives or food coloring was in my food. Guess what?! My kid came out perfectly healthy in every way. Old wives tales are just that... tales. Follow instructions given by your doctor and you will be fine.

[NoAdditives]

Sleeping on your left side specifically isn't a big deal. Sleeping on your back will put pressure on your vena cava and isn't very comfortable as your pregnancy progresses. Sleeping on either side is just fine.

Warm showers are also fine but it's easy to overheat in a hot shower. As far as foods and preservatives go, it's really up to you. I believe that the more natural things you put in/on your body, the healthier you will be. I eat organic food, avoid junk food and preservatives and chemicals in general. I use natural and organic bath and beauty products and I never buy anything that has been tested on animals. In my opinion, if something has chemicals that have to be tested on animals, it isn't safe. I want to make sure my family is as healthy as possible and there haven't been studies on the long-term effects of preservatives and things. I don't even take Tylenol or other "safe" medications while I'm pregnant. I don't want my children to get asthma or autism or anything like that and since doctors don't know what causes things like that, I don't want to take the risk.

[MommyToConnor]

Sweet. I ate lots of pretzels.