A developing fetus is highly susceptible to outside influences. Most people know for example, that smoking and drinking can have serious adverse effects on a fetus, some permanent. Unfortunately many women are not as aware of the effects of common household chemicals and how they can affect not only their baby but even their great, great grandchildren.

What can affect a fetus? There is very little that a pregnant women consumes, breathes, or slathers on her skin that will not affect her fetus in one way or another. Some chemicals are clearly dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. An excellent starting point for a pregnant woman is to consider how natural a substance is. If something grew out of the ground it is quite likely safer than something developed in a lab. There are obviously exceptions to this rule such as poisonous mushrooms and certain herbs but for the most part it holds true.

The hard part is not determining what is safe as much as what is unsafe during pregnancy. Many substances have never been tested on pregnant women and their unborn children so the truth is, you may never know what is safe and what is not. So as a conscientious mother you may choose to err on the side of caution and avoid substances that may potentially be harmful to your baby. This is not feasible all the time but it is certainly worth the attempt.

What is potentially harmful to a fetus?

DRUGS & CHEMICALS
First you should evaluate all drug use including prescription, OTC, and illegal. The FDA has Use-In-Pregnancy ratings for drugs based on their known or unknown dangers. Perinatology.com has a fairly comprehensive list of prescription drugs, vaccines and illegal drugs and includes the class and the potential effects on a fetus or newborn.

What chemicals should you avoid if you are pregnant? Honestly, all of them. Some are clearly more toxic to your fetus than others and some may be totally safe but nobody knows for sure. Some of the dangerous chemicals which are proven to cause miscarriage, birth defects, developmental problems, and stillbirth are:

Pesticides, phthalates (found in some plastics, cosmetics, and bath products), paint, carpet, nail polish, gasoline fumes, routine dental procedures, some household cleaning products, polyurethane foam, hair dyes, and tap water (which can contain fluoride & chlorine). Read Pollution in Newborns by the Environmental Working Group to learn more.

You shuold also research your skin and hair care products at skindeep.org. The almost 15,000 beauty products in the Skin Deep database will tell you not only the safety rating of your products but what questionable chemicals your favorite beauty products contain. Skin Deep provides brand by brand comparisons and safety ratings. Search by product name, product type, brand, or even look up the highest concern brands. They will even give you a personalized shopping list of the safest beauty products.

PRENATAL TESTING (prenatal “scare”)
Additionally, prenatal testing carries inherent risks and potential benefits which must be weighed by each couple. In many cases the testing is totally unnecessary and can even result in miscarriage. What is the answer? Educate yourself. Thoroughly research prenatal tests prior to agreeing to them. The Center for Unhindered Living has a number of articles explaining the pros and cons of Ultrasound, Dopplers, Alpha Fetoprotein Test, Glucose Tolerance Test, Amniocentesis, Chorionic Villus Sampling, and Prenatal Rhogam.

If the test is not absolutely necessary then you have the right to refuse to have it done because it could potentially jeopardize your unborn child. Only you can decide if a test is necessary or not based on your physician’s advice, your research, and your instincts. Please do not take a “medical professionals” word for it. As a responsible adult do some research first.

Nutrition, exercise, and mental health.
Proper nutrition means avoiding processed foods, sugar, commercial meat and dairy products, caffeine, alcohol, among others. Soy, wheat, sugar, and caffeine should be avoided.

There are so many books available about pregnancy nutrition and if you need a bit of guidance then by all means get a book. Dr. William Sears has a great page on prenatal nutrition as well. In addition to avoiding negative food items, you need to accentuate the positive. Certain vitamins and minerals are vital to a healthy pregnancy. The RDA of most vitamins and minerals increases substantially during pregnancy. Folic Acid, calcium, and iron are essential. Organic produce should be your best friend. If this is all new to you then you are probably overwhelmed and confused. If you are committed though, making sensible food choices will be second nature in no time.

Lack of exercise generally will not result in direct harm to your baby but it will make your pregnancy and labor substantially more difficult. The increased blood flow from regular exercise will enhance your child’s development and some studies link prenatal fitness with increased apgar scores and mental development. A walking routine or prenatal yoga course is ideal. You certainly do not want to overdo and many fitness routines need to be modified for pregnancy. The key is to avoid inactivity and increase blood flow. So whatever you do, get off the couch and get moving.

Finally, if you are seeking a natural pregnancy, it is very important to avoid stress. Stress has been linked to miscarriage, autism, and other many other fetal developmental problems. Unfortunately it is unlikely you can quit your job and move to an island for nine months so you need to play the cards you have been dealt. In other word if you are prone to stress you can learn to identify your stress triggers and avoid stressful situations. You can also learn how to handle stressful situations once you are in them.

Both meditation and yoga are proven, fabulous ways of lowering stress levels. Counseling may also help with current stressors in your life. Even a ten minute walk has been proven to reduce stress levels considerably. In any event, please do not resort to drugs or alcohol which don’t reduce stress, they only numb you temporarily and they will certainly cause harm to your child.

You may also want to try other stress reducing techniques include biofeedback, EFT, or a mantra such as “This too will pass”. And never underestimate the value of a good friend or family member that you can call if things get rough.

If you are committed to an organic pregnancy you can certainly do it. Having a partner and family who support your decision will certainly help but even without their help you are certainly capable of trusting your instincts and standing your ground. Your body and your baby will thank you.

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The word ‘Mother’ is synonymous with care, love and all good things on the earth. Mothers who smoke, however, can be inadvertently killing and maiming their children – born and unborn. Shocked? It’s true. Mothers who smoke are potentially gifting their children with lung cancer and many other similarly devastating diseases through second hand smoke. Women who smoke during pregnancy harm their unborn babies directly in the womb.

Here are more unsettling reasons to bear in mind when smoking during pregnancy or around your newborn child. It will not only interfere with your health, it will also interfere with the health of your child:

1. First of all, smoking makes it hard to conceive. Reports show that fertility in both men and women are heavily affected by smoking. In women, smoking interferes with the egg movement toward the fallopian tubes as well as the hormones that are produced during pregnancy; while in men, it lowers the semen count, and the motility of the sperm. In many cases smoking also affects the shape of the sperm making it incapable of penetrating the egg.

2. Children born of smoking parents potentially inherit a low fertility syndrome and suffer from a great number of infertility problems.

3. Smoking in many cases is the main cause for impotency in men as it interferes with the blood supply to the penis.

4. The baby in the womb of a pregnant smoking woman gets its nicotine addiction right from pre-birth as its blood imbibes the nicotine that the mother’s blood shares with it; hence it is more likely that when born they would become a smoker – and also contract all smoking related diseases.

5. In rare cases the placenta is directly affected by smoking causing a miscarriage of the fetus, or death in the womb.

6. Babies of smoking mothers will be most likely to be born premature and under weight.

7. Babies are also likely to have less developed vital organs than their counterparts (babies of non-smoking mothers) – there is a great likelihood that these babies have an undeveloped liver which will affect them throughout their lives.

8. The babies of pregnant smoking women have poor lung functions right from birth.

9. These babies are twice as prone to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) than the babies of non-smoking women.

10. The babies of those women who smoked 15-20 cigarettes a day are more likely to be sickly.

Any one of the above causes should be sufficient enough to make you quit smoking – if not for yourself, for your little miracle that is being formed in your womb. Read the above lines again, and then once more – is that what you want to give to your most precious creation? Would you really be comfortable thinking that you are voluntarily and consistently harming your child even before childbirth? These are some questions that you should seriously consider.

Get in touch with your doctor today and enlist his/her help to quitting smoking. You owe it to your child to be healthy and give them a healthy beginning to the start of their life. As a mother, you are the nurturing contact of the child – do not become the poison in your own child’s life.

Jared Mitchell manages websites in the field of quitting smoking such as http://www.gumauctions.com. Using nicotine gum reduces the negative health consequences of cigarette smoke inhalation and cigarette by-products.

Article Source: http://www.uberarticles.com/articles

Sheryl’s comment:
Smoking and children simply do not mix. As this article suggests, smoking can keep you from becoming pregnant in the first place, can cause spontaneous miscarriage, can cause a number of potentially deadly childbirth complications such as placenta previa, can cause infant death from SIDS, and can lead to a myriad of health problems that will haunt your child for life.

Even if you conceive and everyone survives ok, do you really want a child that is never as healthy as other kids, has asthma, is never quite as smart and seems to get sick all the time? Do you want to wonder why your baby got some form of cancer in her thirties or was never able to conceive?

It is not OK to start smoking the second you are finished with childbirth either. Nicotine passes through breastmilk and will create an addiction in your little one. Forget about co-sleeping because you will release toxins in the air as you sleep increasing your child’s risk of SIDS even further. Think you can smoke outside and get away with it? Nope! Toxins will cling to your clothing and be released into the air around your baby when you come back in. You can try to rationalize, justify or find a way around it, but there is no way around it. If you smoke - you are harming your child. Period.

Even if you cannot quit totally due to stress or some other influence, then cut back. Start by doing prenatal yoga every single day. At least you will not be smoking while you are watching the video. Start meditating for 15 minutes a day and work up to 30 minutes. Both yoga and meditation will also reduce your stress levels and should allow you to cut back further. Start taking a brisk walk every day on your lunch or first thing in the morning. Make sure to leave your cigarettes at home while you workout. Take up swimming, tai chi or prenatal pilates. If you do all of these things, you will feel great, look fantastic and you will not have the time or the inclination to smoke (at least not as much).

Do it because you love yourself and your baby.

Buy the book: Smoking and Pregnancy
Buy the book: The Easy Way to Stop Smoking

The first few weeks of a pregnancy are essential to a growing baby. During this time, the brain and other organs begin rapidly forming. Poor lifestyle decisions such as obesity, smoking, drinking alcohol, and drug use are not only bad for your own health; they can be extremely harmful to a growing baby. Certain chronic diseases and infections can also negatively affect a pregnancy.

The good news is that by having a healthy body and lifestyle before even trying to get pregnant, you can greatly improve your chances of having a trouble free pregnancy and a healthy baby. Before you begin trying to become pregnant, take this important health quiz, and follow the helpful tips that will guide you to a healthy pregnancy!

1.Is your weight in check?
Keeping your weight in the normal range is one of the best ways to ensure a healthy pregnancy. Excess weight can cause a variety of problems during pregnancy including high blood pressure and diabetes. Being underweight can also lead to difficulties. Women who are too thin may have difficulty getting pregnant and are at greater risk of delivering low birth-weight babies.

2.Are you exercising?
Exercise is important for all women at every time in their lives. This is true even during pregnancy. The type and quantity of exercise that you can do safely during pregnancy depends on how healthy you are before you become pregnant. By starting an exercise program before pregnancy that improves heart and lung function and strengthens muscles, you will improve your body’s ability to handle the physical stresses of pregnancy, labor, and delivery.

3.Do you have a healthy diet?
You and your baby will have a healthy supply of the nutrients that you both will need if you begin eating right before you become pregnant. While important throughout all of a woman’s life, a balanced diet is crucial during pregnancy. The food that you eat will be the main source of nutrients and energy for your growing baby. Whatever you do not provide through your diet, your baby will steal from your own bones and nutrient stores.

One nutrient that is vital to the normal development of a baby is folic acid. Consumption of this B vitamin helps prevent neural tube defects (abnormalities of the brain, spine, and their coverings). Folic acid is also believed to help prevent cleft lip, congenital heart disease, and other birth defects. Also make sure to get adequate omega-3 through mercury free fish, flaxseed oil and walnuts. The safest bet is to start taking a food based prenatal supplement if you are trying to conceive or not actively preventing pregnancy.

4.Are you limiting caffeine?
While caffeine in small quantities (less than 3 cups of coffee per day) is considered to be safe during pregnancy, large quantities of the stimulant have been linked to increased risk of miscarriage. As well, some medical studies have shown that a womans fertility decreases with increased consumption of caffeine.

5.Have you stopped smoking and drinking?
Most women know that heavy use of alcohol or tobacco products can have very harmful effects on a baby’s health. But many women don’t know that these substances can also significantly lower fertility.

If you smoke or drink alcohol, the time to quit is before you try to become pregnant. Quitting these bad habits requires patience and plenty of support. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. The effort will certainly be worth it!

6.Have you discontinued any use of illegal drugs or non-prescribed medications?
Like smoking and drinking alcohol, drugs can be very dangerous during pregnancy. Make sure to consult with your doctor about all drugs and medications that you are taking.

7.When was your last visit to the doctor?
A pre pregnancy checkup is a very smart idea. Your doctor will ask about your medical and family history, medications, past pregnancies, diet and lifestyle. Be honest when answering these questions, as your answers will help determine if you need special care during pregnancy. You will also be able to seek advice or discuss any concerns that you may have.

8.Are you under stress?
While almost every woman is under a certain level of stress with day-to-day life, its important to minimize unnecessary tension and conflict before becoming pregnant. High levels of stress are linked to infertility, pre-term labor, and low birth weight babies.

9.How is your environment?
Certain substances found in the home or on in the workplace can make it more difficult to conceive or could harm a fetus. If you are planning a pregnancy, take a look at what is around you. Certain chemicals used in the home or garden or for hobbies might expose you to harmful substances. Ask your employer whether you might be exposed at work to toxic substances such as solvents, lead, or radiation. Discuss your level of exposure to these substances with your doctor.

10.Is your partner healthy?
There has been growing evidence that if your partner smokes, drinks, or uses drugs, it can lower his fertility, damage his sperm, and have a harmful effect on a fetus. As well, secondhand smoke is harmful to a developing baby before and after he or she is born. Before a pregnancy is the time for both you and your partner to quit these bad habits.

Author: Julian Hall
About the author: Julian Hall of The Baby Gifts Company - The Most Unique, Innovative Gift Ideas for Babies, Christening Gifts, Newborn Gifts, Personalised Gifts, Organic Clothing, Nappies, Blankets, New Baby Gifts

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A miscarriage is the natural end of pregnancy when the developing embryo or fetus is less than 20 weeks old and incapable of surviving outside the womb. Miscarriages that occur less than six weeks after your last menstrual period are referred to as an ‘early pregnancy loss’, whereas miscarriages that occur after this point are termed ‘clinical spontaneous abortion’. If you are less than six weeks pregnant, you may not even realize you have been so, and may mistake the miscarriage for a heavy menstrual bleed.

More than three-quarters of all miscarriages occur in the first twelve weeks (also known as the first trimester) of your pregnancy. The causes of miscarriage in this first trimester are mostly because of chromosomal abnormalities. As expectant parents, you need to understand that such abnormalities occur at random and are unlikely to occur in future pregnancies. Sometimes a miscarriage in the first trimester can be due to a deficiency of the hormone progesterone. In future pregnancies, your doctor will prescribe a progesterone supplement to ensure your pregnancy proceeds as normal.

Miscarriages in the second trimester are generally related to problems with your uterus, placenta or cervix. Malformations in the umbilical cord can also cause a clinical spontaneous abortion.

While the large proportion of miscarriages are beyond your control, there are several risk factors for miscarriage. Among them are:

1. If you are pregnant with twins, there is a greater chance of early pregnancy loss.
2. If you are a diabetic who does not control your diabetes, there is a considerably heightened risk of miscarriage.
3. Cigarette smoking, whether by you or your partner, increases the chance that your baby may not make it to term.
4. Physical trauma, such as falls or blows, especially to your abdomen may also result in a miscarriage.
5. Excessive caffeine or alcohol intake, obesity and exposure to certain chemicals will also enhance the likelihood of miscarriage.

The most obvious sign of miscarriage is bleeding. If you notice unusual bleeding during your pregnancy, you will need to talk to your doctor, who may perform an ultrasound scan to visualize your developing baby. In many cases, when a miscarriage occurs, your doctor may wish to undertake a procedure known as a curette. A curette ensures that all the baby’s tissue is removed from your uterus, thereby preventing infection and scarring. After a miscarriage, your doctor will want to investigate why the miscarriage occurred and may recommend that you wait several menstrual cycles before attempting to become pregnant again.

Although the physical effects are usually mild, the emotional pain that you and your partner may experience can be quite severe. There is a natural tendency to blame yourself for somehow causing the miscarriage, although in many cases you will have had no control over or effect upon the health of your developing baby.

Your feelings of grief and loss may be very strong, so do not be afraid to seek counseling to help you and your partner through this difficult time. In many instances, there will be no reason for you not to become pregnant in the future, and every likelihood that the pregnancy will proceed smoothly.

About the author:
Juzaily Ramli and his wife are the owners of Pregnancy Website. Find out why miscarriage is a living nightmare amongst the expecting parents at miscarriage website.

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We have known that the effects of smoking during pregnancy endangers unborn children for decades. Smoking is often a part of your life, whether you smoke or not. It can be a detrimental factor in anyone’s life but particularly for a developing fetus.

Surveys show that many mothers smoke during their pregnancy. The mothers often believe that it does not affect their baby at all. Sometimes these are mothers that do not care for their unborn child, but more frequently they simply are not educated or aware of the great dangers smoking poses to their baby. They might quit if they knew that smoking is one of the major causes of infant deaths in the world today.

Mothers who smoke while pregnant run a risk of ectopic pregnancy. This is especially true when the mother is a heavy smoker during the first trimester of her pregnancy.

Ectopic pregnancy happens when the embryo implants outside the uterus, often in the fallopian tubes. When ectopic pregnancy occurs, the pregnancy has to be terminated because this kind of pregnancy will never go to full term. This fetus will never survive outside of the uterus where a fetus gets all the nourishment and protection that it needs. Prolonging an ectopic pregnancy will also risk the mother’s life.

Smoking also increases the probability that the mother will develop complications with her placenta. Reports show that placental problems occur in about 1% of pregnancies. The most common problem is “placenta previa” where the placenta is connected very low in the uterus and partially or completely blocks the cervix which obstructs the birth canal and the baby must be delivered by C-section or both the mother and the babies lives are at risk.

Another problem is the deterioration of fetal growth. Smoking during pregnancy results in low infant birth weight. For many years now, reports show that there had been significant difference between babies with smoking mothers than those who have non-smoking mothers. There is a correlation between low birth weight and certain conditions like cerebral palsy and mental retardation. They are also more likely to die of SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome. Babies born to smoking mothers are also at increased risk of developing asthma, behavioral problems or learning disabilities.

The dangers from smoking mothers does not end at childbirth. This is especially true for babies who are breastfed by smoking mothers. Studies have revealed that nicotine can be passed on to the baby through breastfeeding. There had been experiments that proved the presence of nicotine in the babies system through urine testing. It later showed that higher percentage of nicotine was found on babies who breastfeed from smoking mothers.

Most experts contend that the problem lies within the mother’s urge to get back to smoking right after they gave birth. They say that it is safe now because the baby was born already. They insist that they stopped smoking during their pregnancy.

Babies should be given the right to live a decent, normal, and healthy life. To all smoking mothers out there: please remember that there are many harmful effects of smoking during and after pregnancy. Give your baby the very best start by simply not smoking.

Author: Tina Dean
About the author: For more information about how to give up smoking please visit www.giveupsmokingforever.com so that you and your child can have healthier lives.

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