Planning For A Healthy Pregnancy

Prepregnancy is the ideal time to review your lifestyle, habits and health history. Getting healthy before pregnancy will help you cope with the stress of labor, delivery and recovery. And it will help your baby, especially in those critical early weeks of development. Let's review a few ideas of prepregnancy (or "preconceptual") planning.

Nutrition and vitamins are critical for you and your baby. Women who are planning a pregnancy should take prenatal vitamins, which contain folic acid. Folic acid supplementation can lower the incidence of neural tube defects (spina bifida). The spinal cord closes by 28 days of embryologic life, prior to when many women realize they are pregnant, making vitamins particularly important in the preconceptual period.

Before becoming pregnant, you should also decrease or eliminate caffeinated beverages. Heavy ingestion of caffeine may be associated with smaller, less healthy babies. A Costa Rican study showed that maternal coffee intake decreases iron absorption, potentially causing anemia for you and your unborn child.

Pregnancy is not a time to diet, so optimize your weight prior to conceiving. Obesity is associated with a higher incidence of gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and difficult labors. Ideal nutrition is achieved with your old-fashioned food pyramid, containing moderate servings from all five food groups. Fad diets are unbalanced; they could be harmful to you and your baby.

Discuss your medical history and any medications you take with your obstetrician prior to becoming pregnant. Some medications (including some antibiotics, antiseizure drugs and drugs used for psychiatric disorders) may harm your baby and should be stopped well before conception. If a type of medication is essential for your health, perhaps your doctor could minimize the dose or substitute an alternative, safer drug. Women with serious health problems (diabetes, lupus, hypertension) can have successful pregnancies, but they need to get special care before and during their pregnancies.

A moderate exercise program begun preconceptually is safe to continue in an uncomplicated pregnancy. High temperatures, contact sports and heavy lifting should be avoided. The key is to initiate the exercise program before you become pregnant, then to make remaining fit and active a part of your healthy pregnancy.

Finally, review your immunization status, family genetic history, work environment, and prior pregnancy history with your doctor before becoming pregnant. These are all important areas where early intervention will help you and your baby throughout your pregnancy.

Becoming a parent is a major commitment; improving your health before pregnancy can help you to have a normal pregnancy and a healthy baby.

by Scott G. Williams, MD, FACOG of SSM St. Charles Clinic Medical Group, O’Fallon, MO.