Some Reasons For Abnormalities During Pregnancy

13. Some Reasons For Abnormalities During Pregnancy

13.1 Alcohol

The teratogenetic effects of alcohol consumption are well known. It has now been found that drinking during pregnancy can severely damage fetal muscles. Scientists found that the muscle cells from the infants were abnormally small, and that the proteins in the muscles were frayed and entangled rather than uniform and parallel.

Children of some women who averaged only one ounce of pure alcohol daily (two standard drinks) during pregnancy showed significantly decreased birth weights. Even women who reported drinking as little as one ounce of alcohol twice weekly experienced “sizeable and significant increases in spontaneous abortions” when compared with nondrinking women.

Fetal alcohol syndrome, a condition characterized by specific facial abnormalities, growth deficiencies, central nervous system disorders and mental retardation appears to be triggered predominantly by chronic alcoholism in pregnant women, although heavy smoking, stress and poor nutrition also contribute to the syndrome’s severity.

13.2 Caffeine

It has been reported that, in rats, a caffeine dose as low as an equivalent four cups per day can enhance the teratogenetic effects of other agents. Dr. Jacobson suggests that if one estimates the safe human dose as 1/100 of the toxic animal dose (a rule of thumb often used), a fraction of a cup of coffee would be considered unsafe. Two human studies have shown evidence of birth defects related to caffeine intake. In one case there was a correlation of toxicity with consumption of more than eight cups of coffee per day by the mother. In another study, heavy caffeine consumption was associated with breech presentations, history of loss in previous pregnancies and decreased activity and muscle tone.

Dr. H. Nishimura and his colleagues at Tokyo University found that injecting 100-200 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight into pregnant mice induced birth defects in six to twenty percent of the offspring. In three additional studies conducted in Germany, France and England, caffeine was fed to pregnant mice in amounts corresponding to 25 cups of coffee per day for a woman (50 to 75 milligrams per kilogram). Birth defects occurred in one to three percent of the baby mice in two of the studies but were not observed in the third. Higher oral dose of caffeine, 100 to 150 milligrams per kilogram caused malformations in eight to twenty percent of the fetuses, respectively.

13.3 Smoking

In a study of pregnant women, researchers found carboxyhemoglobin levels in the fetus to be 1.8 times as great as those in the simultaneously measured Wood of the mother. Fetal blood was exposed to carbon monoxide in vitro.

Harlap and Davies studied infant admissions to Hadassah Hospital in West Jerusalem and found a relationship between admissions for bronchitis and pneumonia in the first year of life and maternal smoking habits during pregnancy. Data on maternal smoking habits after the birth of the child were not obtained, but it can be assumed that most of the mothers who smoked during pregnancy continued to smoke during the first year of the infant’s life. A relationship between infant admission and maternal smoking habits was demonstrable only between the sixth and ninth months of infant life and was more pronounced during the winter months when the effect of cigarette smoke on the indoor environment would be greatest. Mothers who smoke during pregnancy are known to have infants with a lower average birth weight than the infants of nonsmoking mothers. The relationship between maternal smoking and their infants’ admission to the hospital found in this study was greater for low birth weight infants, but was, also found for normal birth weight infants. Harlap and Davies demonstrated a dose-response relationship for maternal smoking and infant admission for bronchitis and pneumonia; however, they also found a relationship between maternal smoking and infant admission for poisoning and injuries.

13.4 Diet

Proper diet before and during pregnancy is extremely important for the welfare of the mother and fetus. The common practice of eating large amounts of highly-refined foods, cooked foods, candies, pastries, canned foods, etc., is one major cause of illness during pregnancy and physical degeneration of our youth.

The time to improve your diet is before conception. It is important to have a pure and properly functioning body so that the fetus can grow and develop normally. When you eat foods that are laden with chemicals and other poisons, your health and that of your unborn child will be adversely affected.

The diet that is most conducive to health is such a simple one that everyone can adapt it. Simply eat those foods that nature has provided us with—raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Optimum nutrition will be assured on such a diet.

13.5 Exercise

Exercise is essential for total health and well-being. When you engage in a regular exercise routine, your circulation, digestion and assimilation will improve, and all organs will work more efficiently.

With proper exercise, diet, rest and sleep, fresh air, sunshine, pure water and all the other essentials for health, reproductive disorders will not occur and total health will be assured.