Health really does matter when you’re conceiving a baby. The healthier you and your partner are at the time of conception, the better your chances of having a trouble-free pregnancy and labor, and a healthy baby. And the father’s health is just as important as the mother’s. There’s no doubt that becoming a parent will change your life in lots of ways, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead as much as you can and think about how these changes might affect you both.
Your Changing Lifestyle
All the things you take for granted about your life and what you do will be affected by the arrival of your baby.
Time -Most of us live very busy lives and many new parents think that their new baby will just fit in somehow and life will go on as usual. It won’t. Babies and children need a lot of time and attention, and as parents you’ll have less time to spend with each other-and other people-than you did before.
Costs - Whatever you earn, you’ll probably need to spend about 15-25 percent of your income on things related to your child, such as clothing and equipment. But other household costs, such as heating, will rise, too, and you may find you want extra items such as a new washing machine or even a larger car.
Relationships - Your relationship with your partner will change when you have a baby, and so will relationships with other people. You may feel closer to your parents-now they’re your baby’s grandparents-but you might find you have less in common with your childless friends. Make new friendships with other parents if you can-they’re going through the same experiences as you.
Smoking - This is one of the worst things you can do for the health of your unborn baby, and it’s the major cause of avoidable health problems. Risks linked to smoking include miscarriage and stillbirth, damage to the placenta, a low-birthweight baby who fails to thrive, and a higher risk of fetal abnormalities. Smoking is one cause of a low sperm count, and a man who smokes while his partner is pregnant may damage his unborn baby’s health through passive smoking. And the problems continue. When tested at five, seven, and eleven years old, children of heavy smokers were found to suffer from impaired growth and learning difficulties. Studies have also shown a link between smoking and SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
Alcohol - This is a poison that can damage the sperm and egg before conception, as well as the developing embryo. The main risks to an unborn baby are mental retardation, retarded growth, and damage to the brain and nervous system-well documented as fetal alcohol syndrome. Alcohol can also cause stillbirth.
Research suggests that the effect of alcohol on pregnant women varies: some are more affected than others. But one thing is certain: if you don’t drink during your pregnancy, you’ll avoid alcohol-related problems. Women tend to have a lower tolerance to alcohol than men. And because a woman has a higher proportion of fat to water in the body, alcohol can become very highly concentrated in the blood that nourishes the developing baby.
Drugs - Only take over-the-counter medicines if you have to, and always check the label. Your pharmacist will advise you about what’s safe to take. Illegal drugs should definitely be cut out before trying to conceive. Marijuana interferes with the normal production of male sperm, and the effects can take three to nine months to wear off. Hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and morphine can damage the chromosomes in the sperm and egg, leading to abnormalities. When syringes are shared, there’s a high risk of contracting HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS. A mother can pass the HIV virus to her baby during pregnancy and the baby can become HIV positive in his own right.
Diet and exercise - Both are vital to your health and the health of your baby. Do your best to eat a sensible, balanced diet that’s low in animal fat and includes at least five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a day. Make sure you’re getting enough folic acid in your diet, because it’s known to lower the risk of your baby suffering neural tube defects, such as spina bifida. Folic acid is contained in green leafy vegetables, cereals, and bread, and should also be taken in supplement form for at least three months before conception and three months after. It’s a very good idea to get regular exercise, too. Pregnancy puts a strain on your body; the healthier you are beforehand, the better you’ll cope.
Age - If you’re healthy and in shape, your pregnancy should not be any more difficult in your 30s or 40s than in your 20s. Whatever your age, you’re likely to have a normal pregnancy and birth, although some problems, such as infertility and chromosomal defects-for example, Down syndrome-do become more common in older parents. Older mothers, and younger women in high-risk groups, are always offered tests for chromosomal abnormalities.
Hazards - Be aware of your environment, at home, at work, and elsewhere, and avoid anything that could be dangerous to your own or your baby’s health. What we eat, where we work, the places we travel to, and sometimes even the people we meet may be risky for a pregnant woman.
Health Considerations
If you suffer from a chronic long-term condition, such as diabetes mellitus, heart disease, or epilepsy, you can, of course, still have children. It’s important, though, to talk with your doctor before you get pregnant so you get the best possible care and help.
Asthma - This is the most common respiratory problem in mothers-to-be and is usually controlled by bronchodilator drugs and inhaled steroids. Asthma drugs don’t seem to be a risk to the growing baby, although oral thrush, which is often made worse by pregnancy, can be a side effect for the mother.
If you do suffer from asthma, it’s important to take extra care of yourself while you’re pregnant. Any stress and tension, as well as dust, pollen, and pollution, can cause breathlessness, and this could trigger an asthma attack.
Epilepsy - From a momentary loss of consciousness to grand mal seizures, epilepsy affects one in every 200 people. Research has found that the effect of pregnancy on the frequency and intensity of seizures varies-50 percent of epileptic mothers are unaffected, 40 percent find they are slightly improved, and 10 percent worse. If you do suffer from epilepsy, talk to your doctor well before you hope to conceive. There’s a slightly increased risk of neural tube and other defects linked to antiepileptic drugs such as phenytoin and valproate, and your doctor should warn you about this.
Changing the drug treatment can increase the risk of seizures, but women with epilepsy are usually advised-under the supervision of their doctor-to reduce the drugs they take before pregnancy, not during it. While you’re pregnant, you’ll continue with any drug treatment, but you’ll need to be seen frequently by a neurologist who can adjust your drug dosage. Phenytoin prevents absorption of folic acid, so it’s very important to take high doses of folic acid supplements before you conceive as well as after, to help lower the risk of birth defects. All pregnant women on phenytoin or sodium valproate are also advised to take vitamin K supplements from 36 weeks of pregnancy to help mature the baby’s liver.
Diabetes mellitus - Diabetes arises when the pancreas produces insufficient insulin to cope with glucose (sugar) levels in the body. Pregnancy hormones have an anti-insulin effect, which can make diabetes worse, or lead to gestational diabetes in those with an underlying tendency. All pregnant women should have a glucose challenge test at 26-28 weeks to screen for gestational, or pregnancy-induced, diabetes. Diabetes can cause the baby to be large or have heart and respiratory problems, and complications for the mother include chronic thrush, preeclampsia, and birth trauma to either the mother or the newborn. So it’s important for insulin-dependent diabetic women to have their condition under control before conception, and to monitor blood-sugar levels closely.
Heart disease - If you suffer from any kind of heart condition, your doctor will give you special advice about your pregnancy. Generally, you’ll be told to get plenty of rest-put your feet up in the afternoon for at least two hours, and spend ten hours in bed at night. Depending on what type of heart condition you have and how severe it is, your doctor or maternal-fetal medicine specialist will make different recommendations. Most women with heart disease can have a safe labor and delivery.
Kidney disease - A woman with kidney disease should be able to have children but will need careful monitoring. Women with kidney disease have a higher-than-usual risk of hypertension and preeclampsia. Urinary tract infection is another common problem, but as long as the kidneys remove waste effectively, the pregnancy can continue. If the fetus isn’t growing properly, though, doctors may recommend early induction.
Sexually transmitted disease -There’s a risk of infection to your baby if you have a primary herpes infection at the time your membranes rupture or at labor. Herpes simplex II virus infection may slow your baby’s growth, and about half of infants born to a mother with these conditions will develop some form of herpetic infection after birth, possibly affecting the eyes, mouth, and skin. If you have no symptoms, and you’re not shedding the virus from your cervix or vagina, the risk that your baby will become infected is less than one in a thousand.
If you have a history of genital herpes, you should still be able to have a normal vaginal delivery, even with an active secondary infection. But if you have herpes ulcers and a primary infection just before labor commences, you’ll probably be advised to have a cesarean section to reduce the risk that your baby will catch herpes as he descends the birth canal. Doctors will check for signs of infection at the time of delivery. If you get herpes simplex for the first time when you’re pregnant, your doctor may prescribe medication to reduce the severity.
HIV / AIDS - The outlook for babies of mothers who have tested HIV-positive is much better than it used to be. The use of oral AZT may protect the developing baby from infection, and the mother will be scanned regularly to check the baby’s growth. Doctors may suggest a cesarean delivery to protect the baby, and they will aim for as little invention as possible during labor (for example, no use of scalp electrodes or fetal blood sampling) to lessen the risk that the baby’s blood will be contaminated. Although it’s not inevitable that the baby of an HIV-positive mother will be HIV-positive and develop AIDS, there’s a risk that the baby will be born with HIV antibodies; these are usually maternal antibodies and may disappear within 18 months. Because of the risks, an HIV-positive mother will be given counseling and may be offered the chance to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes.
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