Expectant mothers can help prevent birth defects with some lifestyle modifications
One in every 33 babies in the United States is affected by a birth defect.
And, according to Dolores Smith, director of program services and public affairs at the March of Dimes in Philadelphia, birth defects are the leading cause of infant deaths in this country.
That’s why National Birth Defect Prevention Month, recognized every January, is so important: It aims to inform women about ways to prevent birth defects.
The best way to ensure a healthy pregnancy, Smith believes, is to begin prenatal care before pregnancy.
“Every four and a half minutes, a baby is born with a birth defect. We encourage women to take care of any kind of health issues and any health concerns, and to get into the best possible condition before getting pregnant,” said Smith.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s sometimes difficult to pinpoint what causes each specific birth defect, but there are many risk factors that women can control, lowering their chances of having a child with a birth defect.
Mothers who smoke, drink or miss their prenatal appointments are at a higher risk of delivering a child with a birth defect, said Dr. Andrew Spergel, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Monongahela Valley Hospital. Other risk factors include obesity, poor control of diabetes and taking certain medications during pregnancy.
“If given the opportunity, I encourage lifestyle modification. If they’re smokers, they need to quit smoking. If they’re overweight, we’d like them to lose weight. A healthy lifestyle is going to go a long way in pregnancy,” said Spergel.
Particularly, he said, there is a large population of women who smoke in the Mon Valley.
“It’s a huge problem. It contributes to preterm labor, which is attributed to birth defects. If I could do one intervention, it would be to tell people to quit smoking,” said Spergel.
Spergel and Mon Valley Hospital stress the significance of getting healthy before becoming pregnant, the importance of the first few weeks of pregnancy, and the value of taking folic acid regularly throughout pregnancy.
Folic acid, a B vitamin, can help prevent major birth defects of the brain and spine. Folic acid is found in virtually every prenatal vitamin and serves as the building block for forming organs and the development of the spinal column (the four most common birth defects are congenital heart defects, cleft lip or palate, Down syndrome and neural tube defects).
It’s difficult for a woman to know if she’s pregnant for about the first four weeks of her pregnancy, so the best solution is to take an adequate amount of folic acid before getting pregnant, suggests the March of Dimes’ Smith.
That said, about 40 percent of pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, according to the CDC, and while it’s best for a woman to practice a healthy lifestyle before conceiving, it her pregnancy comes as a surprise, there’s no time like the present to adopt healthy practices.
To help prevent birth defects, studies show that women should:
• Avoid all alcohol and illegal drugs if there is a chance that she is or may become pregnant. Alcohol in a woman’s blood, for example, passes through the placenta to her baby through the umbilical cord.
• Reach and maintain a healthy weight. A woman who is overweight before pregnancy is at a higher risk for complications during pregnancy, and obesity also increases the chances of several serious birth defects for the baby.
• Keep diabetes under control. Poor control of diabetes during pregnancy increases the chances for birth defects and other problems for the baby.
• See a health care professional regularly.
“I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep regular appointments,” said Spergel. “It might not seem like a lot is done at the appointments, but they’re critical.”
Ultrasounds and increasingly sophisticated tests are critical in detecting birth defects, which can help parents prepare for any medical challenges their baby faces.
“There’s been an explosion of testing that can be done through blood to test for birth defects like cystic fibrosis, and knowledge is power,” said Spergel. “If parents find out they are having a child with a birth defect, it gives them the opportunity to plan, to find out as much information as they can, and to notify physicians that they will have a child with a certain condition. When I offer Down Syndrome testing, often people turn it down and while that’s an admirable response, it doesn’t help the baby. Down babies have a high risk of heart defects and we wouldn’t know to look for that if the baby hasn’t been identified with Down syndrome. Ultimately, every parent wants to do whatever they can for their child.”