About Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the most studied of all. Is the surgical field that studies and cares for high risk pregnancy. Is the non-surgical field that cares for pregnancy and pregnant women. Pregnancy may be a normal state, but the list of food, drinks and activities to avoid gets longer. The department of health warns against:. Soft and blue-veined cheese, such as camembert, brie and stilton, pate, potato salad and coleslaw, ready meals and reheated food, in case they are contaminated with listeria, a bacterium which can cause miscarriage.
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. This is the term used to describe the range of effects--from behavioral problems to heart defects--that can result from alcohol exposure before birth. The most severe effect is fetal alcohol syndrome (fas), one of the most common known causes of mental retardation and the only cause that is entirely preventable. Studies by the cdc suggest that between 1,000 and 6,000 babies in the united states are born yearly with fas. It is also estimated that for every child born with fas, three additional children are born who may not have the physical characteristics of fas but still experience neurobehavioral deficits resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure that affect learning and behavior. Studies reporting on moderate alcohol consumption are emerging. Numerous long-term studies have reported without doubt that heavy drinking puts a baby's health at risk.
Pregnancy is complicated by allergies and asthma. Asthma is the most common potentially serious medical condition to complicate pregnancy. In fact, asthma affects approximately 8 percent of women in their childbearing years. Well-controlled asthma is not associated with significant risk to mother or fetus. Uncontrolled asthma can cause serious complications to the mother, including high blood pressure, toxemia, premature delivery and rarely death. For the baby, complications of uncontrolled asthma include increased risk of stillbirth, fetal growth retardation, premature birth, low birth weight and a low apgar score at birth.