 |
|
|
|
|
Get in Shape for Your Pregnancy
|
| | | | Related Healthscout Videos | |
|
Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 Atrash was also co-editor of a special supplement of the Maternal and Child Health Journal, published last September, devoted entirely to the topic of preconception care.
The movement to intervene prior to conception is based on evidence linking certain factors, such as lack of folic acid, smoking, alcohol misuse and obesity, to unwanted pregnancy outcomes.
"Some of these risk factors have stronger associations with particular adverse outcomes than others," Atrash explained. "For instance, daily consumption of 400 micrograms of folic acid before or early in pregnancy can reduce the occurrence of neural tube defects," such as spina bifida.
Text Continues Below
And while single interventions, such as taking folic acid or quitting smoking, are effective in modifying behaviors in pregnancy, "we do not yet know the effectiveness of multiple interventions packaged together in the form of a preconception care model," Atrash said, "mostly because this is a new approach that has not been widely practiced, and we have very little or no data to analyze."
"It's a hard thing to measure," Pollack agreed. Still, he always tells patients contemplating pregnancy to make an appointment to talk about some of these issues and begin taking steps to address health issues.
"It's always easier to try to prevent a problem than to catch up with it later on," he reasoned.
More information
For more on preconception health, visit the American Pregnancy Association.
Page: << Prev | 1 | 2
|
Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 7/6/2007
|
|
SOURCES: Lorey H. Pollack, M.D., director, obstetrics and gynecology, Mercy Medical Center, Rockville Centre, N.Y.; Hani K. Atrash, M.D., M.P.H., associate director, program development, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta
|
.gif)
