A healthy pregnancy begins before conception. Health conditions, medications, and dietary considerations, as well as habits and lifestyles of hopeful mothers can have an impact on the health of their unborn children. By addressing health issues and knowing the risk factors before becoming pregnant, would-be mothers can prevent problems that might later affect their babies.Finding a way to prevent premature birth could improve the health of thousands of babies annually. Although there is currently no sure way to prevent premature birth, studies have indicated that mothers who consume lower amounts of folic acid may experience shorter pregnancies. To test this theory, doctors from the University of Texas followed the progress of nearly 35,000 pregnancies during which a number of women had taken folic acid supplements for at least 12 months prior to becoming pregnant, while others took the supplement for shorter periods of time, and still others took no supplements at all. Of the total, over 1,600 of the expectant mothers gave birth to their babies prematurely.The results of the study revealed that taking folic acid supplements for a least one year prior to conception reduced spontaneous premature birth occurring between 20 and 28 weeks by 70 percent, and also reduced premature births between 28 and 32 weeks by 50 percent. These findings were made in comparison to the rate of premature births resulting from mothers who did not take the supplements. Folic acid appeared to have no effect on births occurring between 32 and 37 weeks. In addition, no reduction in premature births was seen in those women who took the supplements for periods less than one year. The results of the study were published in the journal PLoS Medicine.

The opinion of some experts is that mass medication could prevent up to 150 cases of spina bifida annually, as well as provide better general health for millions of adults. The results of the new study could lead to renewed appeals for folic acid to be added to bread.

During the last few decades, research in reproductive technology has been advancing at lightning speeds, and at each juncture along the way—the first “test tube” babies, donor eggs used in post-menopausal women, sperm sorting to choose a baby’s gender, embryo selection to provide donor material for an ill sibling, embryo selection to eliminate the possibility of inherited disease—the question is raised of how much is too much. What is “acceptable” science and medicine? Who decides?Trait-selection will be based on a technique called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, created in the 1990s so that parents who carried genes for life-threatening diseases could be assured of having healthy children. Embryos created by IVF are tested at the three-day stage to see if they carry a particular disease, and only those free of that disease are implanted in the mother’s womb. Theoretically, one could look for any gene in those embryos.

However, other fertility specialists are outraged by the clinic’s proposal to offer trait selection. “It’s ridiculous and irresponsible,” said Mark Hughes, one of the pioneers of PGD. “There are thousands of desperate couples who have no hope of having healthy children without this technology, and here we are talking about this.”

Steinberg countered that reproductive technologies aren’t about to go away. “Genetic health is the wave of the future,” he said. “It’s already happening and it’s not going to go away. It’s going to expand. So if they’ve got major problems with it, they need to sit down and really examine their own consciences because there’s nothing that’s going to stop it.”

The fourth month of the year welcomes spring, according to the popular rhyme. April is supposed to bring showers, and is usually associated with renewal when spring cleaning rituals may take place. April also represents birth with Cesarean Awareness Month, also known as CAM, and is a warning to all expectant mothers, women trying to get pregnant, or anyone trying to stay informed about the safest way for his or her family to go through the birthing process.

Recently, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that the rate of cesarean sections in the United States rose 2 percent in 2007 to a record-breaking 31 percent, affecting one in every three women having babies in America that might have been preventable. The president of ICAN, Pam Udy, says that this number is not something we should be proud of, “Every pregnant woman in the U.S. should be alarmed by this rate,” Pam continues that C-sections are becoming problematic, “Half or more of cesareans are avoidable and over-using major surgery on otherwise healthy women and babies is taking a toll.”

For any procedure—especially something as beautiful and memorable as childbirth—knowing all of the facts is critical to being able to make the choices necessary for the well-being of the patient and (in this case) her family. So if you, your cousin, mother, aunt, sister, or best friend is expecting or hoping to be expecting, take time this April to make you and her aware of the best possible personal birthing plan.