Preconception Healthcare
POSTED BY: Sassalicious
UPDATED: Friday, May 19, 2006 23:37
VIEWED: 1760
PAGE 1 of 2
Quote:
Forever Pregnant
Guidelines: Treat Nearly All Women as Pre-Pregnant
By January W. Payne
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 16, 2006; HE01
New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.
Among other things, this means all women between first menstrual period and menopause should take folic acid supplements, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and keep chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes under control.
While most of these recommendations are well known to women who are pregnant or seeking to get pregnant, experts say it's important that women follow this advice throughout their reproductive lives, because about half of pregnancies are unplanned and so much damage can be done to a fetus between conception and the time the pregnancy is confirmed.
The recommendations aim to "increase public awareness of the importance of preconception health" and emphasize the "importance of managing risk factors prior to pregnancy," said Samuel Posner, co-author of the guidelines and associate director for science in the division of reproductive health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which issued the report.
Other groups involved include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the March of Dimes, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention's Division of Reproductive Health and the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
The idea of preconception care has been discussed for nearly 20 years, experts said, but it has drawn more attention recently. Progress toward further reducing the rate of unhealthy pregnancy results, including premature birth, low birthweight and infant mortality, has slowed in the United States since 1996 "in part because of inconsistent delivery and implementation of interventions before pregnancy to detect, treat and help women modify behaviors, health conditions and risk factors that contribute to adverse maternal and infant outcomes," according to the report.
Nearly 28,000 U.S. infants died in 2003, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The infant mortality rate increased in 2002 for the first time in more than 40 years to seven deaths per 1,000 live births, but it did not change significantly in 2003. Birth defects, low birthweight and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) were the leading causes of infant death in 2003, according to NCHS.
The U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than those of most other industrialized nations -- it's three times that of Japan and 2.5 times those of Norway, Finland and Iceland, according to a report released last week by Save the Children, an advocacy group.
Preconception care should be delivered by any doctor a patient sees -- from her primary care physician to her gynecologist. It involves developing a "reproductive health plan" that details if and when children are planned, said Janis Biermann, a report co-author and vice president for education and health promotion at the March of Dimes.
"The recommendations say we need to be opportunistic," or deliver care and counseling when opportunities arise, said Merry-K. Moos, a professor in the University of North Carolina's maternal fetal medicine division who sat on the CDC advisory panel. "Healthier women have healthier pregnancies."
Women should also make sure all vaccinations are up-to-date and avoid contact with lead-based paints and cat feces, Biermann said.
The report recommends that women stop smoking and discuss with their doctor the danger alcohol poses to a developing fetus.
Research shows that "during the first few weeks (before 52 days' gestation) of pregnancy" -- during which a woman may not yet realize she's pregnant -- "exposure to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; lack of essential vitamins (e.g., folic acid); and workplace hazards can adverselyNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
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I am on The List. We are The Forsaken and we aim to burn!
"We don't fear the reaper"
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Ok so you know I am so going to steal this right?
I think they would be able to help the infant mortality in this country if they attacked the lack of healtcare for poor people. This looks like it is going to help those with healthcare - and they are the ones that need help.
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You can steal it, if you want. Afterall, you came up with the slogan.
I know. "Have insurance pay for it" doesn't work when one doesn't have insurance. It's also kind of expensive to eat healthy, in terms of both time and money.
I love that it doesn't address the rampant and hard to avoid pollution that plagues the country. Fish are great for pregnant women, but fish are full of toxic chemicals. It's called bio-accumulation. And workplace hazards? The only way to avoid that would be to not work or get another job, which isn't necessarily an option.
Of course, that leads me to another rant about mountaintop blasting coal mining, but that's for another time.
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I am on The List. We are The Forsaken and we aim to burn!
"We don't fear the reaper"
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As prophesised it is the time of Satan, where women believe they have equal rights as men!
Where they believe they have the right to work!
If God had wanted Women to work HE wouldn't have given them smaller Brains!
Women know your limits!
Well, if you can't beat the Fundamentalist nut jobs might as well join 'em. I think Bush and I see eye to eye on that one... 
More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
And as you know, these are open forums, you're able to come and listen to what I have to say.
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Funny in a really scary way, citizen.
Nothing makes me sicker than the way women
are abused in this world. Except the women
than put up with it. The way men the world
over abuse and torture them in the name of
religion. Put on nail polish in some places
and you get your nails pulled off with a pair
of pliers. People who do that ain't men.
They are animals who need putting down.
Whether it's "Christian" males forcing women
to bear ungodly numbers of children, or "Muslim"
men stoning their wives or sisters for showing
too much ankle, they need a bullet in their heads.
Just had to pipe up here. Say it once. When it
comes to womens bodies and health, men don't get an opinion.
GOD gave it to woman to bear children. IMO, even if you're the father of an unborn, you have no right over her other than to defend her decisions. Don't like her decisions? You got the wrong gal pregnant.
EDIT: "Universal Healthcare for all US citizens?
Don't be silly! That's just for every OTHER
civilized country!"
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Quote:
Originally posted by Sassalicious:
And why are women the only ones expected to have preconception health checkups and rituals? I realize that we unfortunately have to carry the unborn, but guys can do things to ruin their reproductive potential as well.
Yeah, like getting married...
H
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Well Hero you could remove yourself from the marital and procreative pool.
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Quote:
Originally posted by FutureMrsFIllion:
Well Hero you could remove yourself from the marital and procreative pool.
Its like a minefield. For some reason, all the women I want to have sex seem to desire some sort of commitment prior to the act. Some want a ring, some want the promise of the ring, some want the promise of some potential promise some undetermined time in the future, or twenty bucks. Only a few have been so drunk as to make the promise, the ring, or the twenty bucks unneccesary.
And the baby thing...
H
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Quote:Commitment? From YOU???? {shudder!} Wow, they must have been drunk to see you as a potential mate!
For some reason, all the women I want to have sex seem to desire some sort of commitment prior to the act.
Sorry Hero, I just couldn't resist. The door was wide open and I just had to walk thru... but I take it all back!
As far as the original article goes... I agree that it's incredibly biased. It makes me think of "The Handmaids Tale". Although they "discussed" the disparity of health care, they didn't recommend that the disparity be corrected, and everything that "should" be done is put on to individual women. That's a step- admittedly a small one but a step nonetheless- towards criminalizing behavior for women but not for men.
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Don't piss in my face and tell me it's raining.
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