A Healthy Pregnancy Makes a Healthy Baby

A Healthy Pregnancy Makes a Healthy Baby

 

Optimizing Lifestyle and Behaviour During Your Pregnancy

It's important for an expectant mother to create and maintain a healthy 'internal environment' for herself and her growing baby. In order to be healthy inside, you have to start on the 'outside'. Lifestyle factors and your Behaviour heavily influence the health of a newborn.

Smoking
Pregnancy gives you one of the best reasons you can have to give up smoking. The best possible thing you can do for your unborn child is to stop or drastically cut down. Smokers inhale nicotine and carbon monoxide, which reach the baby through the placenta and prevent him from getting the nutrients and oxygen needed to grow.

During breastfeeding nicotine is carried to the baby via your breast milk if you are a smoker. Even second-hand (passive smoking) smoke poses a risk. Nicotine may affect the quantity of milk your body makes.

Studies show an increase in the foetal heart rate for 15 minutes after each cigarette the mother has, as well as a decrease in foetal movement. Complications include an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, allergies, childhood cancers, respiratory illness and ear infections. These conditions may present in the newborn.

Medicines and Drugs
Substances taken into a pregnant woman's body travel to the foetus, primarily through the placenta, so baby is exposed to any chemicals mother is exposed to.

The effect a drug has on the foetus depends on the drug itself and the stage of development  of the foetus. Between days 17-57 after fertilization, baby is particularly susceptible to harm, as his vital organs and nervous system are developing. Drugs reaching him at this stage could cause miscarriage, deformity or defects that may only be detected later.

Certain Drugs are known to harm the foetus. These include:

  • Antibiotics. Certain antibiotics, like tetracycline's, may be stored in the foetus's bones and teeth, resulting in slow bone growth and soft tooth enamel, as well as discoloration of the teeth. Other antibiotics may result in deafness, joint abnormalties, jaundice and brain damage

  • Acne drugs. Isotretinoin, used to treat skin disorders, can cause major birth defects, including heart defects, small ears and hydrocephalus (water on the brain)

  • Anti-emetics. Cyclizine frequently taken for motion sickness, nausea and vomiting, could possibly cause birth defects.

  • Anticonvulsant drugs may cause baby to have a cleft palate and abnormal heart, face and skull, hands or abnormal organs. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like aspirin and ibuprofen, can reach the foetus in significant amounts. Taking large doses can delay the start of labour, and may dangerously reduce the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding the foetus.

  • Anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants may cause defects when taken during the first three months of pregnancy

  • Anticoagulant drugs, like Warfarin, can cause significant birth defects if taken during the first three months of pregnancy.

The sedative drug, thalidomide, prescribed for scores of pregnant women in the 1950's and 1960's, shockingly illustrated the extent to which drugs can affect the unborn child. Thalidomide resulted in birth defects like severely underdeveloped arms and legs and defects of the intestine, heart and blood vessels.

Use of illicit drugs like cocaine, heroin, cannabis and others during pregnancy increases the risk of:

  • Miscarriage

  • Early detachment of the placenta from the uterus

  • Brain defects

  • Defects of the kidneys and genitals

Babies may also be born addicted to illicit substances, and will endure painful withdrawal symptoms after birth. It is also wise to check all "alternative" treatments (like St John's Wort or Echinacea) with your doctor. Remember, if they can have a beneficial effect, they have the potential to have side effects in some people too.

Always check with your caregiver before taking any medication you or on with out consulting your doctor.

Alcohol
Studies show that alcohol interferes with the normal cell development of a baby's brain and other organs. Drinking can result in a recognised pattern of mental and physical defects known as Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).  Unfortunately, the exact amount of alcohol needed for FAS to develop is not clear- any amount of alcohol could have a detrimental effect on the unborn child.

Characteristics of FAS include:

  • Low birth weight and slow physical development

  • Mental impairment, behavioural problems, short attention span and  and learning difficulties

  • Distinctive facial features, including a small head, small eye openings, a short, upturned nose, thin upper lip and flattened face

  • Deformed spine, ribs and sternum

  • Finger and toe deformities

  • Nearsightedness

  • Heart defects or murmurs

  • Kidney and urinary tract defects

  • Deformed genital system

While FAS occurs most often in women who drink moderate to large amounts, some of the characteristics of FAS can be seen in babies whose mothers report that they drank very little alcohol- are behavioral problems, hyperactivity and distinctive facial features. There is no safe limit for alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Exercise
Moderate exercise is not only healthy for you but also for baby, providing a host of physiological and psychological benefits during and after pregnancy. Consult your caregiver before starting an exercise program to ensure that your pregnancy is healthy and free of complications.

Your blood volume increases by about 40% during pregnancy, while heart rate increases by about 10 to 15 beats per minute. This ensures efficient transport of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus. Exercise will increase the heart rate and blood flow  again, so be careful of overdoing it. Never exercise to the point of exhaustion and keep your pulse rate at a level of 140 to 150 beats per minute. Stop exercising and contact your doctor at the first sign of problems.

The most comfortable exercises are those that don't require your body to bear extra weight for long periods of time:

  • Swimming

  • Stationary cycling

  • Walking

  • Low-impact aerobics

Mental Health
It's important to maintain the best possible mental health throughout your pregnancy. A relaxed mother often results in a more relaxed baby. Any fears you have should be discussed with your healthcare professional- sometimes reassurance alone can set your mind at ease. In addition, try the following:

  • Yoga - This is an excellent practice for fitness and mental relaxation, and you can practice it right up to the last stages of pregnancy, with a qualified teacher or at home.

  • Meditation- Taking time out to meditate can facilitate physical and mental relaxation, as well as more peaceful sleep.

  • Breathing exercises -Learn some breathing exercises from the many video's or books available, and use them to centre yourself to promote calmness and peace. This will be invaluable during labour.

Chronic (ongoing) Illnesses
Some women are affected by ongoing illnesses throughout their pregnancy. These can be treated, and your doctor will want to monitor them. Pay particular attention to the following:

Anemia: The most common cause of anemia in pregnancy is iron deficiency. It is important to be tested for anemia and your first prenatal visit. Even if you're not anemic then, you may develop anemia as your pregnancy progresses.

Being tired, weak or pale are some of the symptoms of anemia. There are several instances in which a woman is at high risk to develop anemia, including:

  • Women unable to eat well because of nausea or vomiting.

  • Having a multiple pregnancy like twins.

  • Poor nutrition.

If you think you may be anemic, see your doctor. The solution may be as simple as taking a supplement and/or adapting your diet (like eating more liver or spinach).

High Blood pressure. Although many pregnant women with high blood pressure (HBP) have healthy babies without serious problems, it can be dangerous. Women with pre-existing HBP are more likely to have certain complications during pregnancy than those with normal blood pressure. However, some women develop HBP while they are pregnant (often called gestational hypertension).

The effects of HBP range from mild to severe. High blood pressure can harm the mother's kidneys and other organs, and can cause low birth weight and early delivery. In the most serious cases, the mother develops preeclampsia, which can threaten the lives of both the mother and the fetus.

Diabetes is a condition in which your body isn't able to use the sugar (glucose) in your blood as well as it should, so the level of sugar in your blood becomes higher than normal. Diabetics must practice strict control with their diets and medications.

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that usually begins in the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy (between the 24th and 28th weeks), and affects about 4% of all pregnant women. If there's a history of diabetes in your family, or you have had gestational diabetes before, you must inform your doctor. If untreated, your baby may be more likely to have problems at birth, like low blood sugar or jaundice - or weigh much more than is normal. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born.

Reviewed by Tina Otte,
Internationally certified childbirth educator,
prenatal exercise and baby massage instructor.
Specialist Editor: Your Pregnancy magazin