Babies Tale

Recently publicity has been given to a number of foods that may contain micro-organisms that can cause harmful disease in pregnancy. Listeria is an illness caused by bacteria called listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is a mild, flu-like disease in adults, but in a pregnant woman it can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or severe illness in the newborn baby. Listeria can be found in soft cheeses such as Brie, Camembert and blue-veined cheeses, and can also be found in pates. Cooked foods that tend to sit out, such as rotisserie chicken, food in buffet lines or deli counters, can also contain low quantities of listeria and must therefore be thoroughly reheated. Salmonella, which can cause acute food poisoning, may be found in undercooked chicken and in raw or soft-boiled eggs, so some women prefer to avoid these. Recent research has shown high levels of vitamin A are concentrated in liver. High amounts of vitamin A can be harmful, so don’t overdo eating liver as an iron source.

Toxoplasmosis is another organism that causes only mild symptoms in an adult but that can injure the fetus, causing blindness or hydrocephalus, which can cause brain damage. Toxoplasmosis is found in some raw meat, unpasteurized goat’s milk or cheese, unwashed raw fruit and vegetables, and in anything contaminated by cat feces. Someone else will have to empty the cat’s litter box while you are pregnant. Also, keep the cat off all counters and tabletops. Wash them off frequently.

Since a pregnancy is not usually confirmed until six or eight weeks after conception, and it may take a little time for the body to build up depleted stores of vitamins and essential minerals, it is very important to adjust your diet before you become pregnant if at all possible. A good diet will also make you feel stronger and healthier and help you through the demanding months of pregnancy, through the birth itself and through the postnatal period. If you feel better, you will be more likely to enjoy your baby to the utmost.

Preconception Care

As we learn more about how diet, drugs and other substances in the environment might affect an unborn baby, more and more mothers are trying to prepare well in advance for the birth of their baby. Genetic counselors are available if you know of any genetic disorder in the family or if you are at greater risk of having a baby with disabilities. Advice on diet and general health care in pregnancy may be available at your prenatal clinic or your doctor’s office. Talk with your doctor about getting this extra attention if you would like it.

It is worth having your health checked before you conceive.

You might want a Pap smear. You can also have a swab done to check that there are no harmful micro-organisms in the vagina. Recent research shows that thrush and gardnerella, bacteria that causes bacterial vaginosis, may be linked to a difficulty to conceive, that an organism called mycoplasma may be linked to miscarriage, and gardnerella to premature deliveries. Not all such infections cause symptoms normally, but they may cause problems in pregnancy. Checking on them before you’re pregnant maybe wise.

It is also true that the majority of women do not want to wait months to conceive, and many conceive by accident, or experience problems in conceiving, and these mothers may feel guilty that they are not doing the right thing: “We started out with all the best intentions, stopping smoking and drinking, taking vitamin pills and eating only health-foody things without any additives. But it took me nearly two years to get pregnant. By the end I was fed up with the whole thing-we never enjoyed ourselves, we felt guilty about everything we ate or didn’t eat. In the end I just ate what I felt like and let it go at that.”

Genetic counseling is available at many hospitals for those who are worried that they may be at extra risk of having a baby with disabilities-this includes older mothers and those who have some hereditary illness or genetic defect in their family.

“We had genetic counseling at the hospital because I was 40 and my husband was too, and his child by his previous marriage had had problems. There was a blockage at the entrance to her stomach. She had to be operated on at birth, but she’s fine now. We were told doctors could pick up on this with an ultrasound scan, because the baby would not be able to swallow the amniotic fluid, which otherwise would show up in the stomach. The ultrasound was reassuring. By knowing of any problems in advance, our doctors would be set to do immediate surgery after the baby’s birth. I was also concerned about the extra risk of having a baby with Down syndrome-I was surprised at how greatly the risk went up between the ages of 40 and 41. We decided to have the amniocentesis and other tests done because we felt we couldn’t have coped with a baby with severe disabilities. I thought the counseling was very helpful and reassuring.”

Genetic counseling can be helpful. It enables the couple to talk through any worries they have and to put the risks they are facing into proportion. This is especially true for older mothers who may feel this pregnancy is their only chance to have a baby. It can also be helpful in establishing the reasons for any previous babies born with disabilities in the family, or for several miscarriages, and point toward ways of overcoming them. For example, it has been shown that mothers of babies with spina bifida had far fewer affected babies in subsequent pregnancies if they took supplements of vitamin B and folic acid. Some couples who have had several miscarriages have been told this was linked to a genetic problem but that if they kept going they had a chance of having a normal pregnancy, and this has encouraged them to continue trying to conceive.

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