quick clicks

preconception articles

preconception q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

An Ounce of Prevention

Be Wise About Birth Defects Before Conception

By Kelly Burgess

As a nurse, Maria McBride of River Vale, N.J., is well informed about taking a proactive approach to prenatal health. Accordingly, when she decided to start a family at age 33, she didn't just jump into pregnancy. The year before, she and her husband both focused on optimizing their health through diet and exercise, avoiding soda, alcohol and taking recommended supplements. She's now mom to two healthy boys, ages 4 and 3. "I feel that someone's health, diet and activity level directly impacts a pregnancy," she says. "Eating right and exercising gives both the mother and the developing fetus the best possible conditions and outcome."

Not all birth defects are preventable, but with advances in our knowledge of what causes birth defects, it's becoming increasingly possible to prevent some birth defects and to identify increased risks of others. Dr. Siobhan Dolan is associate medical director of the March of Dimes. Preventing birth defects has long been a focus of their organization.

Dr. Dolan says first and foremost is to begin taking a supplement with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid every day at least a month before conception. "This is something we hear a lot of, and we think everyone must be taking folic acid," he says. "But data show that while something like 80 percent of women of childbearing age know about it, only about 50 percent take it. Women need to hear the message to go buy it and start taking it."

Optimally, Dr. Dolan suggests a visit to your health care provider before conception. At this visit, you can review the types of supplements and doses that are needed to ensure healthy levels at conception, as well as review current health concerns such as age, weight or chronic health conditions and discuss both families' medical histories.

Common sense is also warranted. Dr. Dolan advises the following:

• Don't go overboard with supplements. While folic acid is good, overdoing it on other supplements, such as vitamin A, can be very harmful. Take approved supplements only as directed.
• Avoid crash dieting. The goal is a healthy weight. Pre-pregnancy is not a time to crash diet or eliminate food groups. You may be eliminating an important nutrient.
• Quit smoking and drinking. (Dr. Dolan calls these the no-brainers.)
• Exercise environmental caution. While there's no hard and fast data regarding the effect of chemicals in our environment on pregnancy, Dr. Dolan says exercising caution is still a good idea. Avoid areas where there are fumes from paint and other potentially harmful substances. Atice Schaffer* of Hattersheim, Germany, says that part of her attempts to avoid environmental pollutants included avoiding areas with passive smoke on the theory that "what the mother breathes, the baby breathes."

Want to see more?

• Folic Acid: A Vital Part of Preconception
• Ready, Set, Conceive! Preconception Planning for a Healthy Pregnancy
• Health Check! Preventive Medicine Before You Conceive
• Talk about it!