Start Early! Healthy habits are important!
It’s never too early to start taking care of yourself. Your health is important, whether or not you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant. You will feel better!
Watch out for Toxins & Environmental Contaminants! Drinking alcohol has side effects for you & your baby

Eat a healthy diet. o Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. o Cut down on the sugar! o Get plenty of folic acid, iron, and calcium – through your food, and in a multi-vitamin.
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Get plenty of exercise. You don’t have to go to the gym to exercise. The more you exercise, the better you look – and feel! Exercise reduces stress. If you do get pregnant, being a healthy weight reduces the chance of having a baby with a birth defect. o Get a pedometer. Walk 10,000 steps a day. o Use a farther-away bus stop or parking space. o Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
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Take care of your mental health . o If you are feeling sad, stressed or angry for long periods of time, tell your doctor. Ask her were you can get help to deal with these feelings. o Learn about your family history. Share it with your doctor. You can find a great “family health tree” tool at www.nsgc.org/Portals/0/Family%20History.pdf
.
It’s never too late to Quit Smoking
 Smoking harms nearly every organ in your body . It turns your teeth yellow and gives you bad breath!
It’s not cheap, either!
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Smoking hurts your baby . It causes prematurity, low birth weight, birth defects and infant death.

Secondhand smoke can cause your baby’s lungs to become weak. Your baby is more likely to develop other health problems (infections and asthma).

You can be exposed to toxins and environmental contaminants at work, home, or in your community.
Bug spray, fertilizer, rodent droppings, and even synthetic materials, can be toxic to you.

Exposure to even small amounts of toxins can cause serious problems, like birth defects, when you are pregnant. Be aware of the possible toxins and environmental contaminants in your home, workplace and community. If you think you have been exposed, talk to your doctor right away.
Folic Acid can be a life-saver!

Folic Acid is a B-vitamin that helps build healthy cells.
If you don’t take folic acid before you get pregnant , you are at risk of having a baby with a Neural Tube
Defect (NTD). An NTD is a birth defect of the brain, spine, or spinal cord. So what can you do?

If you are between the ages of 14 and 50, just take a multivitamin every day with 400 micrograms of folic acid! Don’t wait until you think you are pregnant.
Don’t wait until you are thinking of getting pregnant!
Start taking folic acid today!

If you are planning to get pregnant, increase your folic acid to 600 micrograms every day. Do it least one month before getting pregnant. Keep taking it through your first trimester. If you have already had a baby with an NTD, take 4,000 micrograms of folic acid every day. This decreases your risk of having another pregnancy affected by NTD by 70%!
Remember: Most women don’t even know they are pregnant until after they miss their first period!
Your baby’s neural tube is already formed by this time…so you can’t wait until you know you are pregnant to start taking folic acid!

Drinking alcohol can cause you to gain weight!
Alcohol has calories, and drinking alcohol often leads to eating more. Research has shown a 20% increase in calories eaten at a meal if you drink alcohol before the meal. When you add the calories from the alcohol, it’s a 33% increase! So watch the alcohol!
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Drinking too much alcohol can also cause liver damage, high blood pressure, and heart attacks.
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If you are pregnant, or are thinking about getting pregnant, alcohol is even more dangerous. Alcohol passes through your blood through the placenta to your baby. There is no amount of alcohol that is safe to drink during pregnancy. There is no time during pregnancy that it is safe to drink alcohol.

Drinking alcohol if you are pregnant can cause Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). FASD can cause serious physical, behavioral and learning problems for your baby. So don’t drink alcohol when you are
pregnant - or even thinking about getting pregnant!
Illegal “Street” Drugs put your life at risk!

Illegal “street” drugs are dangerous, not only to you, but to your baby if you get pregnant. They can cause prematurity, low birth weight, and other health problems such as birth defects. If you are using drugs and can’t stop, talk to your doctor and ask for help finding a treatment center. Do it before you get
pregnant, or even try to get pregnant!
Even Prescription Drugs can be dangerous

There are some medications that you should not take during pregnancy because they can cause serious birth defects. This includes some over-the-counter medications, herbal or dietary products.

Tell your doctor what type of medication you are taking and why. You and your doctor need to talk about the risks and the benefits of taking each medication.

TAKING CARE OF YOU!
For today, and for tomorrow!
Who are you? You are a woman who has your whole life ahead of you!
Maybe you are a teenager, maybe you are in college, maybe you are an adult.
Maybe you are sexually active, maybe you aren’t.
Maybe having a baby is the last thing on your mind.
Maybe you are just starting to think about being a parent.
Maybe you are already a parent.
No matter who you are, if you are a woman of childbearing age, this brochure is for you!
No matter who you are, taking care of you today is important for the you that you will become in the future.
Someday you may want to have a baby. Thinking about taking care of yourself today and preventing birth defects in the future is important even if you are not currently sexually active or thinking about having a baby.
Taking care of you is important even if you never have a child!
What you do today makes all the difference in the world for your own health tomorrow and for your children… if you ever have children!
Taking care of yourself –
 Eating right
 Exercising
 Avoiding tobacco smoke
 Limiting alcohol
 Being careful with prescription drugs
 Staying away from illegal drugs
– will make your future brighter, with or without children. And if you do have children, taking care of yourself today will reduce the chances of having a child with birth defects or developmental disabilities in the future.
If you are pregnant…or are trying to get pregnant… there are some things you need to do right away:
 Eat right, and exercise!
 Be sure to take your folic acid! If you don’t, your child could be born with a neural tube defect.
 Don’t drink alcohol! The alcohol is passed through your blood through the placenta to your baby.
 Don’t start smoking, or get help to stop! Smoking can cause serious harm to your baby.
 Don’t take illegal drugs; get help to stop! Illegal drugs can also cause serious harm to your baby.
 Be careful even about legal drugs! Check with your healthcare provider before taking any medication.
 Get prenatal care right away! The earlier you see a doctor, the healthier you - and your baby – will be!
IMPORTANT RESOURCES
For today, and for tomorrow!
Do you want to talk to someone any time, 24 hours/ day, 7 days/week? Call the NJ Department of
Health’s Family Health Hotline at 800-328-3838.
 The Centers for Disease Control resources are at: www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/prevention.html

The NJ Department of Health has information about what to do before you get pregnant
( www.nj.gov/health/fhs/prenatal/preplaning.shtml
),
while you are pregnant
( www.nj.gov/health/fhs/prenatal/pregnancyservice s.shtml
), and just to stay healthy
( www.nj.gov/health/fhs/prenatal/maternalhealth.sht
ml )

Governor’s Council on Prevention of Developmental
Disabilities has information and resources at www.nj.gov/humanservices/opmrdd/home/prevention/

The Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN) spearheads NJ Partners for Prevention of Birth
Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Call us at
800-654-SPAN, or visit our website at www.spanadvocacy.org
.
35 Halsey Street
Newark, NJ 07102
800-654-7726 www.spanadvocacy.org