Congratulations On Your Pregnancy
Things you should do.
Folic Acid. You should start / continue folic acid supplements until at least the end of the 12th week of pregnancy even if you are healthy and have a good diet. When you are pregnant, you need a good supply of folic acid to help with the development of the baby, reducing the risk of spinal cord problems especially spina bifida
For most women the dose is 400mcg (0.4mg) a day.
Vitamin D. Vitamin D is needed for growth. Vitamin D supplements are recommended for all pregnant women, breast feeding women and breast-fed babies.
You can get these from pharmacies or supermarkets. If you want to get your folic acid or vitamin D from a multivitamin tablet, make sure that the tablet does not contain vitamin A (or retinol).
Diet.
Healthy diet. Eat a healthy balanced diet. Include foods with plenty of iron (red meats, pulses, dried fruit, green vegetables and fortified cereals); calcium (dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt (low fat versions usually contain as much calcium as the full-fat versions)).
Fish Aim to eat at least two portions of fish per week, with at least one portion being oily fish. (Avoid raw / uncooked and shark, marlin or swordfish)
Caffeine. Should be limited to no more than 200mg per day. The main sources of caffeine are coffee, tea, chocolate and cola. It is also added to some energy drinks, and cough / cold remedies.
As a guide – one mug of instant coffee = 100mg caffeine
one mug of brewed coffee = 140mg caffeine
one mug of tea = 75mg caffeine
one 50g plain chocolate bar = 50mg caffeine
one can of cola or half can energy drink = 40mg caffeine
Nuts. There is no reason not to eat nuts in moderation as they are a good source of protein and fats unless you are specifically advised not to i.e. you have a family history of nut allergies
Exercise. Moderate physical exercise is safe and in general, at least 30 mins per day is recommended.
Things you should avoid.
Alcohol. Advice from the Department of Health states that pregnant women or women trying to conceive should not drink alcohol at all. If you do choose to drink then, in order to minimise the risk to your baby, you should not drink more than 1-2 units of alcohol once or twice a week, should not get drunk and should avoid binge drinking (drinking more than 6 units of alcohol in a day). This is because alcohol can cause damage to a developing baby.
Smoking. If you smoke you are strongly advised to stop, due to the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, or stillbirth. Also, after the birth, children of smoking parents have an increased risk of having chest infections, asthma, glue ear, and cot death (sudden infant death syndrome).
Foods to avoid.
Anything with a lot of Vitamin A. You need a small amount of vitamin A to keep healthy but large amounts can harm an unborn baby. So avoid: Liver and liver products (such as liver pâté and cod liver oil supplements); Vitamin tablets or supplements which contain vitamin A.
Food which may have a high level of listeria. avoid: Undercooked meats and eggs; Mould-ripened and soft cheeses such as brie, camembert and blue-veined cheese; Pâté (including vegetable pâtés); Raw shellfish and raw fish; Unpasteurised milk.
Animals.
Sheep and lambs. Avoid contact with sheep and lambs at lambing time. This is because some lambs are born carrying the germs that cause listeriosis, toxoplasmosis and chlamydia. These may be passed on to you and your unborn baby.
Cats. Toxoplasma is also found in cat poo (faeces). Always wash your hands after handling cats and ask someone else to wash out cat litter trays. Even if you don't have a cat, wear gloves when gardening in case the soil is contaminated with faeces, wash your hands and gloves after gardening and if you do come into contact with cat faeces, wash your hands thoroughly.
Other Advice
Medication.
The effects of some prescribed and non-prescribed medications have been well-studied and it is known that some medicines are safe in pregnancy e.g. paracetamol at normal dose is safe and useful for headaches, backache and other aches and pains that may occur in pregnancy. However some medicines are not safe, therefore always tell a doctor, dentist or pharmacist that you are pregnant before starting any medication and don’t take medicines that you can buy over the counter (including herbal medicines) unless they are known to be safe in pregnancy.
Influenza vaccine.
It is recommended that all pregnant women have a flu vaccination, whatever stage of pregnancy they are at. It will protect both you and your baby. There is good evidence that pregnant women have a higher chance of developing complications if they get flu, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy. If you have flu while you're pregnant, it could mean your baby is born prematurely or has a low birthweight, and can even lead to stillbirth or death in the first week of life.
Studies have shown that the flu vaccination is safe during any stage of pregnancy.
Whooping cough vaccine
There's a lot of whooping cough around at the moment and babies who are too young to start their vaccinations are at greatest risk.
Pregnant women can help protect their babies by getting vaccinated against whooping cough (pertussis) when they are 16-32 weeks pregnant.
It's understandable that you might have concerns about the safety of having a vaccine during pregnancy, but there's no evidence to suggest that the whooping cough vaccine is unsafe for you or your unborn baby.
For more details or any other questions you have there is some excellent information on https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/ or speak to your midwife or GP.