Health Q&A Health Q&A (April 15, 2005)

Pre-Prenatal Care

Pre-Conceived Conceptions

Every year, approximately 3,000 babies are born in Mountain View. Many of these babies will grow up and attend local schools. Camino Medical Group asked local community leaders and school administrators how we can best support students' health. Their reply was to support healthy babies before they are born. If you're planning to enroll a kindergartener in 2011 or beyond, here's how to plan a healthy pregnancy to grow a healthy student.

Practice good health.

Obstetrically speaking, the best prenatal care begins before conception. That said, an estimated half of all pregnancies are unplanned, so if a woman can't exactly determine when she'll conceive, the safest plan is to stay prepared. Living a healthy lifestyle before becoming pregnant reduces many risks during pregnancy. If you are underweight or overweight, strive to get to an optimal weight before conceiving.

Don't smoke.

If you are a smoker, stop. Women who smoke during pregnancy distinctly increase their risk of premature delivery, placenta previa (when the placenta blocks the cervical opening. This can cause bleeding, serious illness or death to both the baby and mother), a low birth weight baby or even stillbirth. Smoking also contributes to genetic defects and respiratory difficulties. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 different chemicals; at least 10 percent of them are known cancer-causing agents. Mothers and babies shouldn't be exposed to any of them. There is also a higher incidence of SIDS-related (sudden infant death syndrome) deaths in babies of mothers who smoke while pregnant. Babies who have been exposed to smoke -- even second-hand smoke -- have a higher level of both genetic and learning defects. Quitting smoking is the single most potent thing you can do to protect your health and that of your baby.

Limit your alcohol consumption.

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology states that there is no known safe minimum of alcohol consumption while pregnant. While trying to conceive and while pregnant, avoid alcohol. It contributes to health risks and potential complications to pregnancy and a healthy infant. If you are pregnant and take a drink, your unborn child takes the same drink. Whatever you eat or drink while pregnant goes directly through your bloodstream into the placenta, which feeds the unborn baby. Alcohol interferes with the unborn baby's ability to get enough oxygen and nourishment for normal cell development in the brain and other body organs. Infants born to mothers who drink during pregnancy can have serious problems, chief among them Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a pattern of mental and physical defects which develops in some unborn babies when the mother drinks to excess during pregnancy.

Take a good multi-vitamin and folic acid.

All women, even those who eat a balanced diet, should take a daily prenatal multi-vitamin containing folic acid, before they conceive. The March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation recommends that all women of childbearing age take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. Folic acid, or folate, has been shown to prevent 50 to 70 percent of neural tube defects, including spina bifida. Eat healthy food, indulging in fruits and vegetables and going light on foods high in fat and sugar.

WalkAmerica April 30 On April 30, The March of Dimes is holding its annual WalkAmerica event. Our local event will be at Vasona Park in Los Gatos. WalkAmerica is an annual awareness builder and fundraiser for the March of Dimes' prematurity campaign. Funds raised go toward research and education programs, with the goal to reduce the rate of premature births by 15 percent. You can learn more about this fun 6.2-mile walk on-line at: walkamerica.org.
Hector Medina, M.D. is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist at Camino Medical Group's Mountain View clinic. He has helped deliver more than 4,500 babies in his 24-year career.
Have a medical question? E-mail it to Cynthia Greaves at greavec@caminomedical.org.

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