By Kristy Goldwire, MSW<\/p>\n
Preparing for a baby is no easy feat. From choosing the best doctors to decorating the nursery, the road to meeting your baby for the Wrst time is full of anticipation and decisions. At Capital Area Healthy Start Coalition we ask that you add one more decision to your list, and that is the decision to prepare your body for pregnancy before conceiving. By Kristy Goldwire, MSW Preparing for a baby is no easy feat. From choosing the best doctors to decorating the nursery, the road to meeting your baby for the Wrst time is full of anticipation and decisions. At Capital Area Healthy Start Coalition we ask that you add one more decision to your list, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[15,14,17,16,13],"class_list":["post-404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-baby","tag-birth","tag-development","tag-health","tag-pregnancy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":406,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404\/revisions\/406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWhy is this important to think about in advance? Because 50 percent of all pregnancies are unplanned regardless of race, education and income. What this tells us is that not enough women are properly preparing their bodies to carry a baby full term. As the agency charged with improving pregnancy and birth outcomes,
\nwe see that failing to prepare for a pregnancy can lead to poor prenatal health for the mom. This, in turn, increases the likelihood of more babies suVering from birth defects, premature birth or infant mortality.
\nThrough our preconception health education, we encourage more women to think about having children before conception takes place. Now is the best time to address chronic disease such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, mental health struggles and sexually transmitted diseases. Whether you want a baby in nine
\nmonths or nine years, we encourage you to get healthy now to eliminate health risks that could negatively affect a future pregnancy. Here are few tips to get you started:
\nGet Plenty of Folic Acid<\/em><\/strong>
\nThis is a naturally occurring B vitamin that helps the baby\u2019s brain development and should be taken before and during pregnancy. The best way to get enough is to take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid and eat a healthy diet.
\nMaintain a Healthy Weight<\/strong><\/em>
\nObesity increases the risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma and a poor health status. This in turn can negatively affect pregnancy and birth outcomes. Speak with your doctor about steps to reach and maintain a healthy weight, and don\u2019t forget to incorporate some type of physical activity regularly.
\nTake Care of Your Mouth<\/strong><\/em>
\nResearch shows a direct link between the health of your mouth and the health of your body. Gum disease, also known as periodontitis, can lead to heart disease, diabetes, gestational diabetes while pregnant, and delivering a low birthweight baby. Brush and floss your teeth twice daily, and be sure to visit your dentist
\nregularly.
\nPractice Safe Sex<\/strong><\/em>
\nAvoid engaging in risky sexual behaviors. Abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way to prevent HIV, other STDs and an unplanned pregnancy.
\nAvoid Smoking<\/strong><\/em>
\nSmoking increases your chances of having a heart attack, stroke or cancer.
\nKristy Goldwire, MSW, is executive director of the Capital Area Healthy Start Coalition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"