Nov. 13, 2000 -- Debra Livingston is every doctor and midwife's
Nov. 13, 2000 -- Debra Livingston is every doctor and midwife's idea of a dream patient. The 29-year-old Florida woman got down to a healthy weight, stopped drinking alcohol, and quit using birth control pills months before she started trying to conceive. "I wanted to do everything I possibly could to put the odds of having a healthy baby in my favor," says Livingston, who is now 5 months pregnant with her first child.
Today women are more able than ever to plan when they want to have a child, thanks to advances such as effective birth control and ovulation predictor kits. This means that women, like Livingston, can start preparing for their pregnancies months in advance of the actual conception -- getting their bodies and minds into the best shape possible for carrying a baby.
Some of the most critical stages occur during the first few weeks of fetal development -- often before a woman realizes she is pregnant. By taking precautions prior to conception, a woman can minimize some of the risks that contribute to many serious -- but often preventable -- birth defects, according to the March of Dimes. And while this preparation doesn't guarantee a complication-free pregnancy, a woman will know she's done all she can to provide her baby with a healthy start, says Donald Mattison, MD, medical director of the March of Dimes.
Planning Ahead
Livingston started getting her body ready for a pregnancy about a year before she attempted to conceive. She was eager to lose weight and improve her eating habits. She lost 30 lbs. and drastically improved the quality of her diet. "I started drinking more milk and eating more red meat and grains than what was normal for me. I also cut out as much junk food as possible."
According to Barak Rosenn, MD, Director of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, it's smart to tackle weight problems far in advance of pregnancy -- and to avoid crash dieting: "Doing so, allows a woman to achieve and maintain her weight before conceiving."
That's important because a study published in the Jan. 15, 1998, issue of the The New England Journal of Medicine reported that women who are obese (with a body mass index over 30 ) before becoming pregnant are four times as likely to have a still-born child. And the extra weight also increases the risk of gestational (present only during pregnancy) diabetes and high blood pressure, both serious complications. But because dieting can seriously harm the baby's development, you should never try to lose weight while pregnant.
