Fri 22 Sep 2006
It is always important to take whatever steps you can to be healthy, but while you are pregnant it is even more important: not only do you need to take good care of yourself, you are also profoundly affecting the life of another person – your baby. Here’s 7 tips to help you along the way.
1. If you smoke, one of the most important things you can do is to stop smoking: babies born to mothers who smoke have a lower average birth weight, are more likely to be born prematurely, and are at greater risk of death from sudden infant death syndrome than babies of non-smokers. Sometimes mothers feel having a low birth weight baby could be an advantage as it will make the baby easy to deliver. This is not necessarily the case, as it may lead to an emergency delivery, which can result in all sorts of complications. Even if you are already pregnant, stopping smoking will benefit the baby for the rest of your pregnancy. It is not only the baby who benefits. You are likely to suffer from less morning sickness, experience fewer complications and have a more contented baby after the birth.
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