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Caring For Your Unborn Baby
Alcohol
Whatever goes into your body affects your baby, too.
Avoid alcohol while you’re
pregnant. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause birth defects,
learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and mental retardation in
your baby. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the medical term that describes the
many physical and mental problems that affect children born to mothers
who drank during their pregnancy. The adverse effects of drinking depend
on the amount consumed, the stage of pregnancy, and certain
susceptibilities in the mother and her baby. The effects of even small
amounts of alcohol on the unborn baby are still unclear. Therefore, the
safest course to take while you’re pregnant is not to drink alcohol at
all.
If you have a drinking
problem, as so many people do, please...discuss this with us. If you
find you can’t stop having a drink or two, several times a week, we’ll
need to work together quickly to help your situation. Your baby’s health
is at stake. Don’t be embarrassed about any problem you may have with
alcohol. One in ten people has some type of drinking problem. Talk to
us! We can help.
Medications
Avoid using medications of
any kind during your pregnancy, unless we specifically prescribe one for
you. This also applies to over-the-counter drugs. Don’t even take an
aspirin without consulting us, because all medicines you take will be
circulated to your developing baby as well. Even hemorrhoid treatments
and cold medications should be cleared through us before you take them.
Any of these types of drugs may contain ingredients that could be
harmful or associated with transient disorders during the baby’s newborn
period.
Caffeine
In addition, you should
avoid consuming a lot of caffeine. This chemical is a powerful
stimulation to your central nervous system and its effects on your
unborn child have never been conclusively tested.
Aspartame (NutraSweet)
There’s no evidence to
suggest that aspartame (NutraSweet) is a risk to your baby while you’re
pregnant. But until more evidence is available, we advise you to avoid
excessive use during pregnancy.
Hard Drugs
Substance abuse during your
pregnancy victimizes your unborn child. Amphetamines, crack,
barbiturates, narcotics and cocaine have all been linked with
low-birth-weight babies, fetal distress, and premature birth. These
newborns often begin life by fighting withdrawal symptoms. They also run
the risk of sudden infant death. Some drugs reach your developing baby
easier than drugs taken by mouth. They include drugs taken
intravenously, nasally, or by inhalation (cocaine, “crack,” and
marijuana). These illicit drugs have proven adverse effects during
pregnancy. Infants born to drug-addicted mothers can actually be born
addicts themselves and may suffer withdrawal symptoms immediately
following birth. Certain medications you take while pregnant can have
permanent effects on your baby or may be associated with transient
medical disorders during their newborn period.
It’s very important for you
to tell us if you’ve used one of the “hard drugs” because your newborn
child could suffer permanent damage, even death, if this problem isn’t
recognized and treated during the newborn period.
Smoking
It’s a proven fact that
women who smoke during pregnancy give birth to babies whose birth
weights are lower than average. If you smoke, you’ll have a greater
chance of miscarriage or stillbirth. You’ll also run a greater risk of
having a premature baby or one that dies early in life from crib death
(sudden infant death syndrome). Certain learning disabilities and
behavioral disorders may also be related to mothers who smoke.
Second-hand smoke is potentially harmful to your other children.
If you smoke, this is the
perfect time to quit. More than one-fourth of all smoking women choose
to give up their habit during pregnancy. Smoking isn’t good for your
health and it’s not good for your baby’s health. The difference is that
you have a free choice and your baby is just along for the ride.
X-Ray Studies
If necessary, dental and
other limited diagnostic x-rays may be performed during your pregnancy.
If your x-ray studies are elective, postpone them until after your
delivery. Be sure to tell the x-ray technician about your pregnant
condition so they can shield your baby when x-rays are taken.
Genital Herpes
Genital Herpes is a viral
disease that affects the sexual organs in both men and women. It plays
an extremely important part in pregnancy since a newborn can experience
serious permanent neurological damage and even death if he or she is
infected during delivery. Approximately one-half of infants born to
mothers experiencing their first outbreak at the time of delivery will
be infected with the virus. Mothers with recurring infections (recurrent
herpes) are not nearly as likely to infect their newborn babies.
We absolutely must know if
you or your husband have ever had herpes so that we can take Proper
precautions at the time of delivery. You should tell us about every
flare-up you have during your pregnancy so we can examine you and take a
culture if it’s necessary.
The recommended
treatment of genital herpes has varied considerably over the past
several years. We may perform cultures wherever active lesions are
present. A Cesarean delivery
should be performed if you have active lesions when you
go into labor or rupture your membranes. If you
have no history of recent flare-ups or visible lesions at the time of
your labor, a vaginal delivery is recommended.
German Measles
German Measles, a viral
disease, is especially important in the first three months of your
pregnancy when your baby’s organs are developing. It can cause many
birth defects involving your baby’s eyes, ears, and heart. Several skin
rashes associated with fever mimic German Measles, but blood tests will
tell us which is which.
If you suspect you’ve been
exposed to German Measles, call us immediately. We may already have a
blood test from this or one of your previous pregnancies that tells us
you shouldn’t be concerned about this disease. Remember, you must
actually contract the disease in order to put your developing baby at
risk. Exposure alone will do no harm. Once you’ve had the illness,
you’re immune for life. If your blood test results show you’ve never had
this infection, we’ll probably recommend you get immunized after this
pregnancy.
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is an
infection that you can get from eating raw or undercooked meat or by
transfer from cats. Cats generally get the parasites from mice or rats,
then excrete the organism in their stool. If you get infected during
your pregnancy, you’ll experience mild flu-like symptoms. It’s during
this illness that your baby will become infected. Your unborn child may
suffer permanent eye and neurological damage.
Precaution is the key to
avoiding this disorder. You should avoid eating raw or undercooked meat.
Allow someone else to empty your cat’s litterbox while you’re pregnant.
Wash your hands carefully after you handle your cat. Strictly indoor
cats are usually not a problem.
Hepatitis B In
Pregnancy
Hepatitis is an
infection of the liver caused by many different viruses. If you have
ever been infected by the hepatitis B virus and become pregnant, there
may be problems for your newborn baby. A certain number of people who
contract hepatitis B develop chronic hepatitis-A condition which can
eventually destroy the liver. Also, it can allow the infected person to give the virus to others
without knowing it. This is the problem
with the pregnant mother and her baby.
A very high number of
mothers who test positive for hepatitis B surface antigen will
unknowingly infect their newborn babies. One out of four of these
infected babies will die from its infection. By detecting this infection
in the pregnant mother, the vast majority of these newborns can be
treated at birth. This prevents the baby’s infection and its risk of
dying from the disease. It also prevents the child from unknowingly
passing the infection on to others and to their babies later in life. We
will perform this relatively simple and inexpensive test early in your
pregnancy. Your baby’s doctor may routinely immunize your newborn infant
against this immediately following birth.
Chickenpox (Varicella)
Most women have
already had chickenpox during their childhood. That’s why the disease is
so uncommon during adulthood. It is, however, likely to be more severe
in adults and pregnant women who do get it. Pregnant women can develop chickenpox pneumonia which can
be quite serious and life-threatening.
Development of chickenpox
during early pregnancy has been implicated in miscarriage and congenital
malformations only infrequently. There is a drug called varicella-zoster
immunoglobulin that can be given to a pregnant woman who becomes
infected. This may prevent her from developing a severe form of the
disease if given within 96 hours of exposure. If you become infected at
or near the time of delivery we will also give your baby a special
immunoglobulin injection to prevent him/her from getting the serious
infection if you develop chickenpox near the time of delivery.
Fortunately, once you’ve had
this disease, you don’t have to worry about being exposed to someone who
has chickenpox while you’re pregnant. You have life-long immunity!
Influenza (Flu)
Beware of flu epidemics.
Pregnant women are more likely to get the illness. The development of
pneumonia is a grave concern. We will consider giving you a vaccination
if you happen to be pregnant during an epidemic, but there’s no evidence
to link this illness with birth defects or miscarriage.
Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
There is no vaccine to
prevent AIDS today, and there is no cure once you have it.
Therefore, the most effective way to protect
yourself and your baby is to learn about the disease and avoid becoming
infected.
AIDS is caused by a virus that attacks the
body’s natural ability to defend itself against infection and sickness.
The immune system helps you recover
from colds and flu, as well as allowing wounds to heal. When the immune
system fails, such as in individuals with AIDS, the body is an easy
target for infections and cancers that rarely afflict normal immune
systems.
The three most common ways
to contract AIDS are by sharing intravenous needles, having sex with
an infected person, or mothers
passing it to
their unborn babies.
The risk of a mother
passing the virus to her newborn child is high, occurring 10 - 50% of
the time. Medication can now reduce the risk to less than 10% in the
newborn baby.
Initially, AIDS was
contracted mostly by homosexuals and bisexual males, but the number of
heterosexual women is increasing. And there is no evidence that the
disease can be contracted by casual contact with others, or through
water, environment or food. You can significantly reduce the risk of
getting AIDS if you use condoms during sex and avoid sharing needles if
you use drugs.
A simple blood test will
determine if you have been exposed to the virus. However, it may be
years before AIDS symptoms become obvious, if ever. Between the time of
exposure and the development of noticeable signs of the disease,
symptoms are non-specific or nonexistent.
All women who are current or
former drug users and those whose sexual partners use intravenous drugs,
engage in bisexual activity, or who have AIDS are considered high risk.
Female prostitutes and those who have received blood transfusions
between 1978-1985 should also be screened. Because a blood test may not
reveal abnormalities until several months after infection, women who
have been recently exposed should be tested periodically.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
This is the most common
viral infection that affects the newborn infant. If you become infected,
you’ll experience a non-specific illness characterized by sore throat,
fever, and swollen glands or you may have no symptoms at all. Because of
its trivial nature it’s rarely recognized. This virus can remain in
healthy adults for a lifetime and periodically become active. When
active, the virus can cross the placenta to your unborn baby and cause
physical impairments at birth.
It appears that a baby is at
greatest risk if the mother becomes infected for the first time during
her pregnancy. Risk to the baby is not nearly so great if the mother
experiences a flare-up during pregnancy from a previously acquired
infection. Fortunately, those infants born to mothers who have the most
severe form of infection only rarely develop the serious consequences
of the disease in the newborn period.
We can test your blood for
this disorder as with other viral infections, but the nature of this
disorder makes it difficult to interpret the results. Currently, there
is no effective treatment available for either the pregnant mother or
her newborn baby. Contraction of the disorder is largely unavoidable,
and you can only prevent this disease by avoiding close personal contact
and using good hand washing and hygiene practices.
Mumps
Mumps is uncommon
during pregnancy because of the childhood vaccine and low infection rate
in susceptible adults. However, it does appear to increase the rate of
miscarriages and premature labor. Newborns rarely have abnormalities
just because their mothers had the mumps during pregnancy.
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