Pregnancy Awareness Month

May has been celebrated as Pregnancy Awareness Month, a time to educate families and empower women with resources for having healthy pregnancies. There are many factors which contribute to a healthy pregnancy and reduce the risk for complications including:

• Proper nutrition (a balanced diet)
• Healthy weight gain (depending on your weight at the time you become pregnant) 
• Drug intake (ask your physician before taking ANYTHING while pregnant)
• Alcohol consumption (while this should go without saying fetal alcohol spectrum disorders continue to affect children)
• Anxiety and stress (reducing and eliminating are beneficial to everyone) 
• Maternal and paternal age  
• Environmental hazards (chemicals, pollutants, radiation, extreme heat/humidity, etc.)
• Proper preconception care and monitoring of fetal development (ultrasounds, embryoscopy, amniocentresis, chorionic villus sampling, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, umbilical cord sampling, maternal blood test)

For more information, visit the official site of Pregnancy Awareness Month. Founded by Anna Getty and Alisa Donner in 2008 with initiatives focused on education, exercise, nutrition, and wellness & nurture, their campaign reaches out in an effort to support women and families. The site has a wonderful resource page full of recommended links to explore!  
 
Wishing you a pot o' gold, and all the joy your heart can hold. Thanks for reading!