Lifestyle advice

• Supplements:

  • Take folic acid 400mcg from before pregnancy (3 months) to 12 weeks - reduces neural tube defects
  • Take vitamin D supplement (10mcg or 400IU daily)
  • Avoid vitamin A supplements and eating liver/pate - vitamin A is teratogenic at high doses
• Food:

  • Avoid unpasteurised dairy or blue cheese - risk of listeriosis
  • Avoid undercooked or raw poultry - risk of salmonella
• Place car seatbelts above and below the bump - not across it
• Alcohol:

  • Can cross the placenta, enter the fetus, and disrupt fetal development
  • Pregnant women encouraged to not drink alcohol at all
  • Affects are greatest in first 3 months of pregnancy
  • Alcohol in early pregnancy can lead to - miscarriage, small for dates, preterm delivery, fetal alcohol syndrome
• Fetal alcohol syndrome:

  • Microcephaly - small head
  • Thin upper lip
  • Smooth flat philtrum - groove between the nose and upper lip
  • Short palpebral tissue - distance between eyes
  • Learning/behavioural disabilities
  • Hearing and vision problems
  • Cerebral palsy
• Smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of:

  • Fetal growth restriction
  • Miscarriage
  • Stillbirth
  • Preterm labour and delivery
  • Placental abruption
  • Cleft lip or palate
  • Sudden infant death syndrome
• Smoking seems to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia
• The RCOG advises flying is generally ok in uncomplicated healthy pregnancies up to:

  • 37 weeks in a single pregnancy
  • 32 weeks in a twin pregnancy