Pregnant or Thinking About It? 10 Prenatal Tips

From conception to delivery, a fetus is at the mercy of its environment. A mother-to-be has more control over her internal chemistry than she might think, and her odds of having a healthy baby will be much improved if she follows these 10 tips.

Video: Prepping for Pregnancy

Take steps even before you're pregnant. If you're considering pregnancy, you should take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to guard against neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Also ask about vaccination against chickenpox or rubella. These and a few other "live" vaccines cannot be given to pregnant women; the illnesses can cause birth defects if contracted during pregnancy.

Don't delay an OB visit. Early blood tests can catch anemia and infections that can affect the fetus if not dealt with quickly. Possibly correctable problems such as heart abnormalities often can be detected in the coming months through echocardiography and other screening tests.

Write down all meds. Your doctor should review your drugs, vitamins, and supplements. Some of them, such as certain antidepression and seizure medications, can harm your baby's heart and increase your risk of miscarriage.

Don't drink. Binge drinking is particularly dangerous to the fetus; known risks include miscarriage, stillbirth, and mental retardation. It may cause facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

Don't smoke. That includes inhaling secondhand smoke. Besides stillbirth and low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome has been linked to cigarette smoke.

Monitor the scales. Gestational diabetes and premature birth are among the dangers of putting on more than about 25 to 35 pounds, or more than about 15 to 25 pounds for an overweight woman.