Article Medically Reviewed By:
Heather Reynolds, CNM, MSN
Associate Professor of Nursing Nurse-Midwifery Specialty Program Yale School of Nursing New Haven, CT
Overview
What Is It?
A healthy pregnancy starts with taking care of your body and understanding the many changes you will encounter during this special time in your life. If you've recently found out that you're pregnant, you should learn as much as possible about what it takes to have a healthy pregnancy and how to best care for yourself and your baby during this time of physical and emotional change. Finding a health care professional with whom you're comfortable to care for you throughout your pregnancy is the first step in a healthy pregnancy.
In 2007, a record number of babies were born in the United States—about 4,315,000.
For most women, pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks, or 280 days. This time frame is calculated from the first day of your last menstrual period. After you've missed a menstrual period and confirmed your pregnancy with a home pregnancy test, make an appointment with your health care professional.
You're Pregnant: What Next?
Visit Your Doctor
Meeting with a health care professional early on (even before you get pregnant if you are planning to conceive) is important for all women, but especially important if you have any medical conditions or family health problems that could put you or your baby at risk.
Certain conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, can affect the health of the fetus if you don't have them under control before you get pregnant or in the early stages of your pregnancy.
Start a Vitamin Regimen
The sooner you can plan ahead for pregnancy, the better. For example, you should take 400 micrograms of folic acid (a B vitamin) at least a month before you become pregnant and for the first three months of your pregnancy. If you have already had a child with a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida, a type of birth defect in which the baby's spine doesn't close all the way, you are at a higher risk of having another child with the defect, and therefore, you should take 4 milligrams of folic acid as an extra precaution.
One study found that getting enough of this valuable B vitamin could prevent neural tube defects in 72 percent of babies born to women who had previously had a child with the condition.
Consider Vaccinations
You should also be tested to make sure you have antibodies against rubella (German measles) and varicella zoster virus (chicken pox). If you don't have sufficient antibodies against either of theses conditions and you're not yet pregnant, you should get vaccinated. Most health care providers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that you delay getting pregnant for at least four weeks after receiving the vaccines.
If you're already pregnant and don't have enough antibodies against these conditions, you shouldn't get vaccinated because the vaccines conta...
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