When you Find out you are Pregnant

Whether you are planning to become one of the 6 million American women who become pregnant each year or you are already pregnant, the healthy choices you make before, during and after your pregnancy can have lasting, positive affects on you and your unborn child. 

Today's technology allows for couples to plan more effectively for pregnancies, however, if you find yourself pregnant here are some steps to help ensure a safe delivery and healthy baby:

• See a doctor for a pre-pregnancy exam
• Stop Smoking.  Your doctor can help you find the best method for you to use to quit.
  
• Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
  
• Minimize caffeine intake.  Caffeine can impair fertility and increase the risk for miscarriage and
• low birth weight.
  
• Exercise regularly - talk to you doctor on the best exercises for you
  
• Get adequate sleep
  
• Reduce Stress
  
• Gain or lose weight, if necessary.  It is best to begin your pregnancy at a healthy weight.
  
• Drink plenty of fluids, like fruit juice, milk or water instead of soda and coffee.  Drink skim milk or eat low fat cheese or yogurt.
  
• Talk with your doctor to make sure you are getting enough folate
• Avoid Alcohol. 

As soon as you suspect you're pregnant, make an appointment to see a doctor, who will give you advice about diet, prenatal vitamins, exercise and other issues that may affect you and your baby, and help prevent or treat pregnancy related complications.

If you are unsure of the father of your unborn child, and you want to have a father involved in the care taking of your unborn child, you can request a Pre-Natal Paternity test.  In many cases, due to the age or genetic predisposition of the mother and alleged father, your doctor may recommend an amniocentesis or chorionic villi sampling to determine if there are any other complications.  At the same time either of these tests are performed, you can schedule a Pre-Natal Paternity Test with your local DNA Lady.

A prenatal paternity test is completed by taking an oral swab of the mother, the alleged father and either a sample from the amniocentesis or cultured cells from the chorionic villi.  There is no additional risk to the mother or unborn child to have a prenatal paternity test scheduled.  Knowing the father of your child in advance, allows you to plan in advance for hospital and state paperwork, health benefits, visitation and other details that happen so quickly after the baby is born.  Having one more detail, already taken care of relieves the stress from this eventful time in new parents' lives and provides a strong foundation on which both families can begin to bond with the new child.