This is Tamlou revising my ?. Would hoodia, colon cleansing, drinking & smoking affecting my pregnancy? This is what I know thus far: I am 35 years old and 1 child, 2 abortions and 2 miscarriages. I believe that I may be pregnant; however, I have taken a pregnancy test from the dollar store that was negative. I am 7 days late but am experiencing tinder breast and nausea. I am having the same symptoms that I had the last time that I was pregnant. I have been drinking, smoking, taking hoodia and colon cleansers on a daily basis. What should I do if I am pregnant? If I am pregnancy, I want my baby.

asking

Hey, J-9, isn't fetal alcohol syndrome a birth defect? It's usually mild, but depending on how much tamlou has been drinking, it can cause some defects: This is from the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

"A baby with FASD may be born with a small head and identifiable facial features. He or she may have abnormalities or deformities of the limbs, hands or feet. Heart, liver and kidney problems are common, as well as vision and hearing problems."

Tamlou, I think the main thing at this point is to not drink anymore. I read that binge drinking--like drinking three glasses of wine once a week--is much worse for the baby than drinking half a glass every day. But it's better not to drink at all when pregnant.

And quit smoking if you possibly can. (And don't start up after the baby is born.) Smoking is bad in lots of ways, causing low birth weight babies, increased risk of miscarriage, and doubling the risk of cleft palate.

ABCs of Healthy Pregnancy, BD, NCBDDD, CDC
Maternal Smoking and Birth Defects
Outcomes: Prenatal Data Smoking Book | CDC Reproductive Health

I read recently that even smoking before and after pregnancy affects the baby. Mice exposed to tobacco smoke before pregnancy or afterward (but not during) had daughters with only two-thirds as many eggs as normal. And the male baby mice had lower sperm counts, too. If that is true in humans, it would make it much harder for a daughter or son to have a baby. If it can affect their fertility as adults, it's probably doing other things too.

Definitely eat well and take a multivitamin now, especially folic acid (also called "folate"), to prevent spina bifida and other neural tube defects.
How Folate Can Help Prevent Birth Defects

You might also try eating red grapes or peanuts or anything containing resveratrol, because that helped the mice who smoked! But they got injections and I'm not sure how much food would help. Can't hurt to try though. It supposedly fights cancer and makes you live longer.

I don't know anything about hoodia and colon cleansers, but I would stop...I think we all think you are probably pregnant based on what you said. If so, good luck and enjoy your baby. If not, you should still quit smoking and drinking and start taking folate and vitamins, because it helps even more if you do it before getting pregnant.
Asking

J_9

Actually, no, it is not considered a birth defect. A birth defect is something more along the lines of spina bifida, congenital heart defects, etc. It is a syndrome, they are separate entities. Of course, it all depends on what studies you look at....Here is one that indeed states that FAS is in fact a birth defect.


So, I don't necessarily stand corrected, it just all depends on what study you are reading.

J_9

I stand slightly corrected....FAS is a form of a birth "defect" that is considered PREVENTABLE...Yet many are not preventable.

Due to the fact that it is considered "preventable" many professionals do not recognize this as a birth defect as would they a disorder such as hydrocephalus.

brown_eyes_3546

"Spina bifida and anencephaly, the two most common types of neural tube defects (NTDs), may be prevented if women have sufficient folic acid in their diet prior to becoming pregnant and during the pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) can be prevented if women do not drink during pregnancy."

Preventing Birth Defects : Environmental Health in Minnesota

a birth defect is a defect if it can be prevented or not.

asking

The baby did not know! But what a jerk that professor was to make you do that. Did you ask for a different topic? I think you would have had a right to say no and I would think your college ombudsperson would have backed you up. How far along are you?
Asking

asking

J-9, Can you tell us who it is who says that a birth defect is only a birth defect if it cannot be prevented? This is a new one to me. Do they mean it has to be genetic? And is this something in one of your medical books or from a class?

I TA'd an embryology course for a year when I was in grad school and also worked in an embryology lab as a technician for a couple of years, so I read a lot about birth defects--although mostly when I was pregnant. But I hadn't heard that restriction on the definition until today. I'm wondering if it is an older idea, from when most malformations were assumed to be genetic mutations.

I would think that it would be really hard to tell if a defect was caused by the environment (or genes) until someone discovered what specific thing (toxin, deficiency, infection) was causing the defect. If you dont know, you tend to assume it's genetic and unpreventable. For example, nobody knew that folic acid deficiency was causing neural tube defects (spina bifida, anencephaly, some kinds of hydrocephaly) until about 20 years ago.Then the government put folic acid in bread and cereal and the rate of spina bifida and anencephaly dropped by a third or so! I love that story. Such a safe and simple solution to a terrible problem.
Asking

brown_eyes_3546

he gave me two options. he said that i hadnt wrote a sincere paper all semester and he wanted me to do something i felt strongly about. he said drunk driving or abortion. well i am 4 months pregnant this week and Dec 30, 2006 i was hit by a drunk driver and it nearly killed me my bf and his 18 yr old brother in one swoop. he happened to be friends with my junior english teacher and she informed him that i had already wrote the drunk driving paper for her so that left me with abortion! i say i think the baby knew what i was reading bc no matter what time of day it was i would be sick every time i did research. abortion was not an option in my pregnancy bc my bf is against it completly and it is not something for me. i am prochoice but i choose to prevent not abort.

oh and thank you for providing resources for your information. i have felt rather attacked in the previous adds to this post bc i didnt take anatomy and physiology. I simply listen to what my doctor has to say and read everything i can find about what to and not to do while im pregnant. i am terrified of something happening to my first baby and i want to prevent anything i can i have even gone as far as no caffine in my diet bc i am extra sensitive to it and my doc told me to go easy on it. i avoid fish bc of the mercury and i eat turkey meat instead of beef bc it is healthier.

tamlou

Thank you to everyone who answered my post. The information was most helpful.

asking

I guess he meant well in terms of trying to get you to write with more personal commitment, but I still think he made a bad decision. I'm really sorry. I'm also prochoice, but I think the choice should be the pregnant woman's, not anybody else's.

.

I think it was because it was stressful for you to be reading about abortions when you had already committed to keeping your baby. It's always a serious decision and your teacher was implicitly challenging your choice, which he had no right to do. It's none of his business. He probably didn't realize what he was doing though.Just a bull in a china shop...



Anybody can make a mistake. I also think anybody with as much motivation to learn as you obviously have should be encouraged. I am impressed with what you know! I bet J-9 was just surprised by the comment about colons, not meaning to make you feel bad personally. She knows a lot about medicine and anatomy.

I hope you can stop worrying about your baby being born with birth defects. You are doing all the right things. Chances are excellent your baby will be born really healthy. If you don't mind some advice, the only other thing you can do besides taking care of yourself physically is to avoid stress and get plenty of sleep. If someone is stressing you, avoid them! Make sure to stay in touch with friends, have a good support network. You are going to have a healthy baby! Think positive. Keep little mementos of this happy time, so you can remember it later.

Cheers,
Asking

brown_eyes_3546

My bf laughed when he read that. he got on earlier while i was half way thru my 12 hour nap. i get plenty of sleep and i try to avoid stress but being a fulltime college student working a full time job and being full time wife and baby maker is stressful. i sleep all day on the days that i can bc i know stress is bad for me. well i guess not wife. we arent married yet but we live together and have for awhile so i mite as well be.

thanks tho.