Posted: 1/24/2018
Parkland helps women take control of their baby’s health, future
Each year nearly 120,000 babies, one in 33, are born with birth defects in the United States, according to estimates from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although January is Birth Defect Prevention Month, staff at Parkland Health & Hospital System is committed to empowering patients with the tools and resources necessary to experience healthy birth outcomes every day.
Birth defects may affect how the body both works and looks. Defects develop while a baby grows in the womb, most often during the first three months of pregnancy. Some birth defects, like cleft lip, are easily visible, but others may require tests to diagnose. A diagnosis may occur during pregnancy, but in some cases it may come after the baby is born. Causes may include genetics, health conditions during pregnancy and/or lack of essential prenatal nutrients.
“Awareness, education and regular healthcare are crucial factors in preventing birth defects,” said Deborah Lane, Community Action Network Coordinator with Dallas Healthy Start at Parkland. “Part of our mission is to provide this information to our patients and explain its importance.”
Dallas Healthy Start is a Parkland program that seeks to reduce infant deaths, pre-term births, low-weight births and other health conditions. The program offers services in seven ZIP codes that have the highest rates of infant deaths in Dallas County and provides prenatal and parenting education, well baby care, food and housing assistance, among other services.
“We educate our patients and explain that healthy pregnancies, healthy birth outcomes and heathy lives all start with a plan. This outlined vision can be set in motion before a person is ready to start a family,” said Karla McCoy RN, BSN, MS, Community Programs Administrator, Women & Infants Specialty Health at Parkland and Dallas Healthy Start.
Heathy Start and other organizations like the Texas Department of State Health Services encourage patients to use the ‘Someday Starts Now’ life-planning tool. Both women and men are encouraged to take the three-page survey. The tool asks about a person’s lifestyle, current and past health concerns, goals and plans to achieve them, and how children fit into their lives (now or in the future).
After answering the questions, a patient can complete a section titled “Your life. Your plan.”
“The goal of the survey is to provide patients a life plan unique to their wants and needs. It’s not about telling anyone what they need. It’s about giving them a choice and control of their lives,” said Martha Maldonado, Health Education Program Coordinator with Dallas Healthy Start.
Maldonado said the tool could help prevent birth defects by allowing parents to become as healthy as they can. “It’s called pre-conception health. Its main goal is to help patients take care of their heath now, so their body is in a better state and better prepared to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy outcome,” she said.
Patients thinking about their future children can take action now by quitting smoking, eating right, exercising, controlling their stress and visiting a primary care provider for annual exams, Maldonado added.
“Identifying risk factors that may affect a pregnancy can be done by establishing a relationship with a primary care doctor. Annual exams can detect high blood pressure, diabetes, folic acid deficiencies and other conditions that may later on contribute to birth defect risks,” McCoy said.
The CDC also recommends the following to prevent possible birth defects:
• Take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day. Folic acid helps prevent serious birth defects of the spine and the brain, such as spina bifida and anencephaly
• Strive to reach and maintain a healthy weight
• Avoid drugs, alcohol and smoking anytime during pregnancy
• Talk to your doctor about any medications you may be taking
“If there’s a baby anywhere in your future, how you care for your body today matters,” Maldonado said.
For more information about life planning tools, visit www.somedaystartsnow.com. For more information about Dallas Healthy Start or Parkland, please visit www.parklandhospital.com.