This is from my Western Background...

1. Coffee (will cause miscarriage) - Most people agree that you can have a little coffee/tea but just don't over do it, if you are used to a morning coffee it should be ok but if you want to be safe switch to caffine free.
2. Pineapple (will cause miscarriage) - You have to eat a lot of pineapple to cause a miscarrage so you don't have to not eat it, just limit.
3. Cold Drinks & ice creams - never heard this one before and to be honest living in Asia i wouldn't go without Cold drinks or oce cream for 9 months!
4. Banana (long ones) - again never heard of this before. Potassium is important (just not too much as it can interfear with absorption of something else, forgot what)
5. Longan - no idea
6. Chinese foods that contain wine - I wouldn't see why, it is the alcohol content of wine that isn't so great but if it is cooked the alcohol is gone so not to worry.
7. Papaya, Honey Dew & Watermelon - I don't know a medical reason why not
8. Wintermelon soup
9. Lotus Root soup
10. Bak Ku Teh soup
11. Kang Kung
12. Cabbage - again don't see why not apart from the fact it doesn't contain much of anything
13. Sze Chuan vegetable
14. Wine / Liquor / Beer - I would stay away from Liquor but the other 2 as long as you don't bonge are actually ok. A glass of wine a couple of times a week is actually ok as long as you don't over do it.
15. Raw Salmon - Agree
16. Japanese Fish Roe - Agree
17. Lala & cockles (avoid Hepatitis A) -Agree

Uncertain (please share)
1. Guava
2. Assam Powder
3. Ginger
4. Milk & Yogurt - As long as it is pasturised you are fine.
5. Lemon + Honey drinks - Don't see why
6. Prawn Crackers - I supposed as it is deep fried, but a little every now and then should be fine
7. Cheese - Only avoid soft cheese/ or those with a 'shell' (like Brie) regular chedder and other hard cheeses are fine
8. Crab
9. Grapes
10. Fast Foods

The most important thing (from a Western point of view) is to make sure you have a balanced and complete diet during pregnancy. You should increase your Protein intake by around 30% (for the baby) and also increase carb intake (for you). Lots of fresh fruit and veg will provide most of the vitamines and minerals you and baby need. You should also increase the amount of (pasturised) milk you drink to give baby enough calcium to grow strong bones (if you don't like milk you can take calcium suppliments instead).
You can still treat yourself every now and then (I still have McDonanlds or some chips occasionally) as staying happy is important as well, but try to avoid eating too many 'empty calories' (foods that contain a lot of calories but not much nutrients) as they will give you extra weight gain without any usable goodness.

Hope that helps. There are loads of websites with suggestions for balanced healthy meals during pregnancy which help a lot.

I've been doing so much research and it is really confusing as everyone has different opinions on what you can/can't eat and how much of it you can/can't eat. From what i can tell in general, as long as you take things in moderation and make sure that overall your diet is balanced and healthy, you will be fine.

Pasturised milk will usually say that it is Pasturised on the carton but i think pretty much any milk you buy in supermarket is.

Empty calorie foods and things like candy, white bread (gardinia and such), cookies... pretty much anything that doesn't contain much nutrition but has a lot of calories. Fast food could also be considered 'empty calorie food. Again, this isn't to say you can't have them, just make sure it doesn't interfere with your regular meals and that will be fine.

The most important change i made to my diet was to eat a lot of small meals (almost just constant snacking) rather than 3 big ones. I found all through my 1st trimester that by evening i was really bloated and uncomfortable, but after i switched to a lot of smaller meals i feel a lot more comfortable. I'm 4 months in now and eat a small breakfast (usually a yogurt and a small bun or cereal) then a morning snack (usually nuts), lunch (sandwich), second lunch (another sandwich or some meat with rice), afternoon snack (more nuts), dinner (this is usually a proper meal but smaller portion that i used to eat, spaghetti or something like that) then supper (this is when i am usually bad and have a cookie or something not so nutritious) then if i am having a longer day i will have something small to eat before bed so i don't wake up hungry in the morning. So far this is working well for us.
I gained a lot of weight (almost 10kg) since the beginning of my pregnancy but i started out pretty underweight for my size so it is considered ok. Some people say you should only gain 10kg during the entire pregnancy but it really depends on how you start out. If you are underweight, it is good to gain extra so you have plenty of energy for the 2 of you, if you are very overweight it is probably a good idea to monitor your food intake so you don't gain too much extra padding. Generally go by how hungry you are, if you need to eat more, eat more, of not then don't. Everyone is different and no one can tell you how your body should be working.

For cheese, doesn't matter where it comes from, as long as it is a hard cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, gouda, if it is hard when you press it) it is fine, if it is a soft cheese (brie, camembert, most goats cheeses, but not including creme cheese) limit it as much as possible (some times the mold in certain soft cheeses, especially the harder rind on the outside can cause some complications but it isn't that common). Pretty sure Nestle only has cheddar and 'plastic' cheese which are both ok. Avoid too much plastic cheese (like the kind you get in a McDonalds burger) in favor of more natural cheese like cheddar (Bega is the brand you usually see in most supermarkets).

I'm just at 14 weeks (14weeks, 6days to be exact according to my latest ultrasound <3) and my boobs are HUGE, not complaining, nor is hubby, but already my bra's are all getting pretty tight, don't want to buy more now in case i grow even more and can't fit the new ones so dealing with the 2 or 3 that still fit comfortably (they were a little on the big side before). During my first trimester they were really really sore and even wearing a shirt with no bra (only around the house) hurt. Now they aren't sore, but just heavy (plus my bump is pretty obvious so that is heavy as well).
For clothes, i got a few oversized t-shirts (the kind that are really long) that i am living in now and the stretchy pants with the fold down band and drawstring that are sold everywhere (mostly black with a color band).

My back gets tired towards the end of the day, i have definitely noticed it curving in a different way to before. I started doing some yoga positions at home to help ease the discomfort (downward facing dog is very relaxing but i don't know if i could still get into that position as my bump grows bigger).


As far as food and cravings go, during my first trimester i had major cravings for all sorts of things, mostly easy to please and pretty much all healthy (was crazy about oranges for weeks). Now i don't crave much but am quite picky and get really grumpy if i don't like the food i am eating (i was always a bit picky but i think because i get hungry more often it is harder to deal with). Sadly my mother in law is coming up with a new thing i 'shouldn't' eat almost every day (i'm not a fan of whoever introduced her to the internet right now ), so that is making things a little difficult.

Wish you all a happy and healthy pregnancy. For those just starting, enjoy everything to come, for those just finishing, early congratulations, good luck and enjoy your new baby.

Ita good idea, and i have been considering it... but only at 15 weeks now and still seem to be growing fast so don't want to pick up some that will only last a couple of months before being uncomfortable again. Either way i have enough to last for now, just about .

@PandaLover - It is very exciting. I did hear that you should avoid canned food (but forgot why), you also do want to try and avoid too many preservatives as they are mostly just added chemicals. As vegie_green said, raw and undercooked eggs can have some nasty bacterias in that will cause you problems, however eggs (good quality ones that are thoroughly cooked) are a great source of Protein as well as a number of essential vitamines and stuff so really great to have as part of your pregnancy diet (especially if like me you suddenly have no appetite for meat).