Advice For The Expectant Mother
Without a doubt, the question on every expectant parent’s mind is, “what prenatal care measures should I take to ensure that my child is born healthy and happy?” Prenatal care should start with good pre-pregnancy health care, which includes a healthy diet, exercise, regular checkups with one’s family physician and effective management of pre-pregnancy diseases such as diabetes or hypertension, etc. The benefit of such precautions is the reduced risk of certain complications of pregnancy such as:
(1) Premature labor/delivery. (2) slowed development of baby. (3) birth defects. (4) hypertension. (5) diabetes and (6) infections, just to name a few.
Vitamins/Iron supplements:
* Pregnant mothers MUST take a prenatal multivitamin every day that contains at least 0.4 mg. of Folic Acid. Folic Acid during pregnancy helps prevent spinal cord defects and may also help reduce the risk of premature birth. It is highly recommended that any woman that is of child bearing age (even those not planning to get pregnant) should be getting at least 0.4 mg. of Folic Acid a day.
* Non-anemic, pregnant women should receive at least 30 mg. of Ferrous Iron. Anemic moms need at least 60 mg. of Ferrous Iron, twice a day, for at least 6 weeks. They require more iron because of their lower number of red blood cells.
* Expectant mothers should avoid excess use of vitamin A supplements and avoid the anti-acne drug, Accutane, all together because they can cause birth defects. Accutane must be stopped at least 3 months before conception otherwise it will definitely cause serious birth defects.
Visiting the Doctor:
* If you think you are pregnant you should visit your Family doctor or Obstetrician as soon as possible. Your physician will be able to confirm the pregnancy for you, because home pregnancy tests are NOT 100% accurate. Your physician will then run some routine tests to screen for: measles, RH factor, Hepatitis B, HIV, diabetes, hypertension, syphilis and pre-eclampsia; all of which can cause severe problems to your developing baby if not caught early enough in pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia is a disease that occurs only during pregnancy, the cause of this disease is unknown and the only cure is to deliver the baby as soon as possible. The three symptoms of pre-eclampsia are hypertension (high blood pressure), Proteinuria (protein in mom’s urine), and edema (swelling, usually of the hands, feet and face). If mom doesn’t see her doctor as soon as possible for treatment the disease can progress to the more severe disease, eclampsia, which has the same symptoms as pre-eclampsia but also includes seizures.
Smoking/Alcohol:
* I cannot overstress how important it is for expectant moms to quit smoking, not just cut down but quit smoking entirely. Smoking will cause carbon monoxide poisoning of the baby (baby’s blood binds carbon monoxide even tighter than mom’s blood does), low birth weight, impaired intellectual development, increased risk for asthma and respiratory infections, and also increased risk for attention deficit disorder. No mother wants her baby to start out life with a strike already against him/her, that’s why it is so very important that mom stops smoking. Let me put it in perspective for you, smoking has been linked to more birth defects and other complications than either marijuana or LSD.
* Alcohol is the most common cause of mental retardation in live-born infants. Baby is most vulnerable to alcohol during the early part of the first trimester, usually when mom doesn’t realize she is pregnant.
Weight Gain:
* The amount of normal weight gain for a pregnancy depends on the patient’s pre-pregnancy weight. For women who start pregnancy underweight, a 28-40 lb weight gain is desirable; women who are overweight should expect a 15-25 lb gain. Women who are at normal weight, a gain of 25-36 lbs is ideal. Excessive weight gain is NOT harmful but can be a sign of certain diseases such as gestational diabetes. Sudden weight gain in the third trimester can be a warning sign of pre-eclampsia. Too little weight gain can lead to premature labor or slowed development. The pregnant mom must establish good eating habits and AVOID fasting or skipping meals.
Exercise/Work/Travel:
* The amount of exercise during pregnancy should be at the same level as before the pregnancy. An expectant mother who did not exercise before the pregnancy should not start training for the NY Marathon. Instead, she should start on a light exercise routine that will help increase strength and flexibility. Increasing strength and flexibility will improve posture and muscle tone, which will decrease the discomforts of the entire pregnancy including labor. Consult your doctor first before starting any exercise regimen.
* Heavy housework and heavy work outside the home should be discouraged because this can lead to fatigue which is associated with an increased risk of premature delivery and poor growth of the baby. Consult your doctor for his/her recommendations.
* Travel during pregnancy is not harmful as long as you take frequent rest periods to avoid fatigue and stress. Try not to travel too far from home during the last trimester of your pregnancy, months 7, 8 and 9.
Intimacy:
* Sexual intercourse may continue throughout the pregnancy except in-patients at risk for abortion or premature labor. Risk factors include: severe anemia, a previous history of pre-term delivery or neonatal death, pre-eclampsia, kidney disease and several other risk factors. Consult your physician.
Hot Tubs/Saunas/Showers:
* Pregnant women should avoid hot tubs and saunas because they will raise mom’s body temperature, which is associated with birth defects and premature delivery. Showers and tub bathing are fine during pregnancy but care must be taken not to raise the temperature too high & for too long, and be careful not to slip on any wet surfaces.
Cats:
* Pregnant mothers must absolutely avoid all contact with the cat’s litter box. Contact with Mr. Kitty is fine, however under no circumstances should mom touch Mr. Kitty’s poopie because of the possibility of contracting toxoplasmosis.
I cannot overemphasize how important it is that you visit your OB/GYN as soon as you can, if you think you are pregnant. Equally as important is that you keep up with your regularly scheduled appointments. Let me illustrate this fact with a quick story. Several weeks ago, I saw a patient in Louisville for a routine checkup and everything was fine. She returned a week later for her regularly scheduled appointment and presented with a horrific blood pressure of 180/100 and her face had swollen up like she had gone three rounds with Mike Tyson. She had pre-eclampsia, and it was in the short span of one week that she went from perfectly fine to severely in danger. But this story ends well; mom delivered a healthy baby girl and they are both doing great. One last note, Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center has an excellent prenatal class that is FREE to all women that are planning to deliver there (if you’re delivering somewhere else you can still attend the class for a small fee). Call the OB department at 259-9562, for class times to register
Dr. Mark Lee,OB/ GYN, son of Dr. Joseph Lee, is now accepting new patients!
Call 270-287-0380 to schedule an appointment