Tips for Expecting Parents

There are many things for expecting parents to consider before and during pregnancy. The main goal of preconception care is to ensure that the women is as healthy as possible before conception. This is important to the health of her and her future children. Nearly one half of pregnancies are unintended in the United States (Farahi and Zolotor, !"#$. %n essential part of preconception care is family planning. % reproducti&e life plan is a good way to start such planning and tools are a&ailable for future parents at http'((www.)*).go&(preconception(reproducti&eplan.html (Farahi and Zolotor, !"#$. +nce a woman becomes pregnant, she must focus on ha&ing good prenatal care. This would include ha&ing a good diet, exercise, and nutrition plan as well as ,nowing how to manage stress and a&oiding teratogens. Teratogens are agents that can potentially use birth defects or negati&ely alter the child-s de&elopment. Teratogens can include drugs, en&ironmental pollutants, infectious diseases, nutritional deficiencies, maternal stress, and or maternal and paternal age. *rugs that would be considered teratogens are excess caffeine which would be two or more ./ounce containers, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, methamphetamine, and or heroine. Teratogens can affects your unborn child in many different ways including structural defects, de&elopmental defects, growth stunts, increased chance of miscarriage, and or problems with organ function. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (F%S*$ are abnormalities that occur in the babies of mothers who consume large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy. The abnormalities can include' facial deformities and defecti&e limbs, face and heart, learning problems, below a&erage intelligence and some are mentally handicap. *uring pregnancy U.S. 0eneral Surgeon recommends that no alcohol should be consumed. 1n order to a&oid incompatible blood type a &accine which is called 2ho0am may

be gi&en to the mother within three days of the child-s birth to pre&ent her body from ma,ing antibodies that will attac, future 2h/positi&e fetuses (Santroc,, !"!$. Screening and treatment for infectious diseases is important for preconception care. *iseases or infections can cause damage during birth. *iseases such as diabetes, syphilis, rubella, genital herpes, or %1*S can all ha&e ad&erse effects to the baby. This ma,es planning for pregnancy an absolute must to a&oid such ad&erse effects. %nother important aspect of prenatal care includes good diet, exercise and nutrition plan. The health of the baby relies upon the nutrients that the mother inta,es. 3eing o&erweight during pregnancy can put the fetus at ris, for stillbirth and neonatal death. %long with being o&erweight, o&er/nutrition can lead to obesity in childhood and adolescences. 3oth before and during pregnancy women should ta,e folic acid alone or as a multi&itamin as it will help in lowering the ris, of preterm birth and neurological defects. 4ost women should ta,e 5!! mcg daily before pregnancy and throughout pregnancy. This can reduce neural tube defects such as spina bifida (Farahi and Zolotor, !"#$. 6regnant women should a&oid mercury found in fish such as shar,, swordfish, tilefish, and or mac,erel7 a&oiding these foods can help to decrease the chances of miscarriage, low 18, cerebral palsy, and preterm birth 9omen should howe&er eat up to " ounces of fish without mercury such as shrimp, salmon, pollic,, catfish, and canned light tuna. :ating fish is good for fetal growth and de&elopment as well as the cardio&ascular health of the mother (3oschert, !!;$. %nother important part of pregnancy is exercising during and after the baby is born. 4oderate wor,outs of 5;/<! minutes in duration with moderate intensity and fre=uency of four times a wee, help with many health benefits both for the mother and the unborn child. %cti&e mothers often see significant impro&ements with aerobic fitness and strength as well as

the lessening of musculos,eletal issues. %lso of note is that moderate exercise has no ad&erse effect on o&erall pregnancy length, placenta weight, %pgar scores, or birth weight of the fetus. %cti&e women also report a lower ris, for premature birth than those who do not exercise. %lso less common in acti&e mothers is the ris, of gestational diabetes. 6ostpartum reco&ery is significantly =uic,er among acti&e pregnancies (6rice, %mini, > ?appeler, !" $. 4oderate exercise can also help with increased sense of well/being. +&erall, studies show that moderate exercise during pregnancy has a lot of different benefits to both the mother and the unborn child. :xercise can also help with reducing stress during pregnancy. % pregnant woman-s emotional state such as stress can affect the fetus. Stress can lead to the release of corticotropin which can lead to preterm birth (3ates, !!;$. Stress can also be lin,ed with increase ris, of children ha&ing %*@*, language delay, and emotional or cogniti&e problems. Fear during pregnancy will produce adrenaline which restricts blow/flow to the uterine area and pre&ents the fetus from recei&ing enough oxygen which could potentially lead to death. *epression during pregnancy and it-s ris, associated with the illness as well as the treatment are still up for debate. 4any studies contradict each other and no clear and conclusi&e findings ha&e come to the table. +ne thing is for sure is that pregnant woman should discuss treatment with their pro&ider before ta,ing medications and ta,ing a plan of action ()ohen, !!A$. *epression among pregnant women can lead to ele&ated cortisol le&els and the effects are detrimental to the fetus or the newborn. Some ways to help de/stress and relax during pregnancy are laughter, massages, sunlight, eating greens, music, and exercising in water (2oswell, !!B$. 6renatal care plays a large role in the health and de&elopment of the unborn child.

There are three basic components of prenatal care' early and continuing ris, assessment, medical and psychosocial inter&entions and follow/up, and health promotion. The essential areas of ad&ice for pregnant woman are breast/feeding, a&oidance of teratogens, diet, &itamin and folic acid inta,e, and the appropriate of weight gain during pregnancy. This care should also promote the health of the family as well as the mother and the fetus. The current framewor, of prenatal care consists of a first &isit within "< wee,s, with monthly &isits until . wee,s subse=uently. %fter . wee,s &isits should be e&ery two wee,s becoming wee,ly at #< wee,s. The first &isit will often accompany a ris, assessment, a pregnancy plan, and blood wor,. 3lood tests will help determine if the pregnant woman has any diseases or underlying health problems that would affect the pregnancy. The first two months are an extremely important time as the fetus is de&eloping their organs. This ma,es prenatal care in the initial &isits important to the health of the mother and the fetus. Follow/up &isits beyond the initial &isit focus on maternal and fetal health, pro&ide guidance, and screen for any issues during pregnancy. 1t has been suggested that woman with a greater ris, of ad&erse birth outcomes benefit the most from educational health care messages. :ducation recei&ed during prenatal care is more beneficial to preterm labor or low birth weights. This suggests that =uality of care and education is more beneficial than =uantity of care (3uttaro, Trybuls,i, 3ailey, > Sandberg/)oo,, !!.$. There are many things that expecting parents need to be aware of and educated on. Some of the main points discussed ha&ing a good diet, exercising, and proper nutrient as well as ,nowing how to manage stress and a&oid the use of teratogens. 3ecoming a parent is an exciting life change. Following the guidelines of prenatal care as well as your healthcare pro&ider can help create the best possible outcome for your family.