Facts and Figures

Facts and Figures

With nearly 4 million births a year, it is easy to justify the need to educate women in America about the importance of a healthy pregnancy. Pregnancy has a significant impact on women emotionally, mentally, and physically. In fact, 13 percent of pregnant women and new mothers battle with depression. Depression can harm both baby and mother. Many depressed pregnant moms do not eat well, have problems sleeping, miss doctor visits, and are more likely to use tobacco, alcohol or drugs.

Views towards pregnancy have been changing over time. Although women have been having children since the beginning of time, their experiences, thoughts, and practices are changing over the years. For instance, women are now having fewer children than the years before us, and they are having them later in life. The figure below from the National Vital Statistics Report shows the growth in women ages 40-44 having more children as time progresses.

Many mothers are working through their entire pregnancy and returning to work shortly after. All of these factors can affect their pregnancy. Maternal practices during pregnancy are typically cultural, and moms will follow what those before her have done (like her mother, sister, aunts, etc.). The health of a mom and baby are also influenced by age, socioeconomic factors, and ethnicity. Also, whether the pregnancy was planned can also greatly affect the health of mom.

Pregnancy is a time to prepare for baby arriving. Usually moms will have to decide where the baby is going to sleep, how she is going to feed the baby, and what life is going to look like after baby arrives. Sometimes the hardest decision is how to feed the baby. Breastfeeding is just now gaining in popularity and is hugely dependent on culture, education, and the mom’s perceived ability to breastfeed. Cultural can also affect what mom eats during pregnancy, beliefs on alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and other practices.

Ideally, we want a full-term, healthy pregnancy but there are a number of things that can “go wrong” during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes, low birthweight, prematurity, neural tube defects, congenital defects, miscarriage, and stillbirth are just a few. Of babies born in 2010, 8.1% of infants were born with a low birthweight and 12% were born prematurely. Some of these conditions are preventable through healthy lifestyle choices, taking prenatal vitamins, and nutrient adequacy.

Because women have been birthing babies since the beginning of time, many do not know the complexity of pregnancy and the importance of a healthy pregnancy for both mom and baby. Mom acts as the baby’s first exposure to the world, nutrient source for 40 weeks, safe home, and protector of harmful substances.

References:

Ahluwalia, I.B., Morrow, B., D’Angelo, D. & Li, R. (2012). Maternity care practices and breastfeeding experiences of women in different racial and ethinic groups: Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS). Journal of Maternal and Child Health, 16(8): 1672-1678. Doi: 10.1007/s10995-011-0871-0

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013a). Births and natality. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/births.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013b). Maternal and Infant Health. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/MaternalInfantHealth/index.htm

Kirmeyer, S.E. and Hamilton, B.E. (2011). Childbearing Differences Among Three Generations of U.S. Women. National Center for Health Statistics, 68(1)

Martin et. al (2012). Births: Final Data for 2010. National Vital Statistics Reports, 61(1): 1-72. Retirieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_01.pdf#table01

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health (2012). Depression during and after pregnancy fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/depression-pregnancy.html