Health of parents key to fetal development

Health of parents key to fetal development

By Elvina Karyadi

JAKARTA (JP): All parents wants their children to be fit and
healthy. Many focus on eating well, obtaining sufficient calories
and nutrition, for their reproductive health. Yet many other
factors, involving both the father and mother, must be taken into
account in determining the outcome of the pregnancy.

Sperm from a man's body unites with a woman's egg to create a
totally unique and genetically irreplaceable human life. Many
women are unaware of their pregnancy in the crucial development
of the fertilized egg into a fetus during the first eight weeks.

A woman's nutritional health and presence of toxins will
determine whether the baby will develop normally.

These same factors will influence the quality of the father's
sperm.

Researchers believe a biological father's occupational or
lifestyle hazards, including smoking, drinking alcohol, taking
non-prescribed drugs and exposure to toxic chemicals, may affect
sperm content.

Poor nutritional status of the mother, such as protein and
essential fatty acid deficiency, inadequate carbohydrate intake,
vitamin and mineral deficiency, low body weight and slimming
programs, can increase the risk of congenital malformation.

Other influences on fetal health include drugs, such as birth
control pills, anticonvulsants, and prohibited substances such as
marijuana; toxins from tobacco, alcohol, tea and coffee;
environmental pollution due to lead, mercury, cadmium,
organochemicals; fungi; food additives; and infectious agents
such as rubella, toxoplasma, mycoplasma and syphilis.

Vitamin A is important but excessive doses can actually cause
congenital malformations -- any woman intending to become
pregnant should monitor her consumption. Choline and vitamin E
deficiencies enhance the toxicity of vitamin A. Doctors advise
pregnant women or those trying to conceive to refrain from taking
any daily supplement that contains more than 7,500 to 10,000 I.U.
of vitamin A.

Essential fatty acids are also integral in fetal development,
as they are involved in the development of each cell in the body
and are specifically important in brain development.

Extreme deficiencies of some nutrients result in infertility
and a failure to conceive. It has been shown in animal studies
that deficiencies of vitamins B1, B2, B12, folic acid, and
vitamin A, and a range of minerals such as iodine, are all
associated with an increased risk of congenital abnormalities.

There is a shady area between the extremes of poor nutritional
status and infertility, and good nutrition with fertility and
normal reproduction where women are still at risk of producing an
abnormal child. It is this area that is the target of dietary and
nutritional intervention in preconceptional care.

Congenital abnormalities such as neural tube defects, cleft
palate and Down's syndrome are associated with deficiencies of
several nutrients.

Neural tube defects (NTD) is a condition where the development
of the spine and spinal cord is incomplete. Women who have had
one NTD baby have a higher risk than average of conceiving
another. Studies show that a multivitamin and mineral supplement
including folic acid will reduce the risk of the abnormality.

Cleft palates are relatively common. It has been shown that
women who have had a previous child with this condition can
reduce their risk of having further children with cleft palates
by taking vitamin and mineral supplements around the time of
conception. In one study, women were given a daily supplement
for three months before conception and the first three months of
their pregnancies. There was only one recurrence of cleft palate
in 85 supplemented pregnancies. There were 15 recurrences among
212 women who did not take the supplements.

As yet, there is no evidence that preconceptional care can
prevent Down's syndrome. However, good nutrition will always be a
woman's best safeguard against congenital malformation of the
fetus and increase the likelihood of it developing normally.

Aside from congenital malformations, the health of the mother
before pregnancy is obviously important when it comes to
determining whether she will be well during pregnancy.

Parents need to start the preconceptional program at least
three to six months before planned conception. Sperm develop over
a three-month period, meaning that quality of a man's mature
sperm today may have been affected by lifestyle factors three
months before.

Obviously, there are measures we can take to safeguard our
reproductive health and the well-being of our future children.

The basic recommendations for both sexes for preconceptional
care are:

Men -- stop smoking and use of unprescribed drugs, reduce or
stop alcohol consumption, improve diet, take protective measure
against hazards and toxins in the environment and workplace, use
nutritional supplements for deficiencies of nutrients.

Women -- stop smoking, use of non-essential drugs and
consumption of alcohol, improve diet, take nutritional
supplements (such as vitamin A, iron, folic acid, essential fatty
acids andiodine), halt oral contraception, determine food
allergies, screen for toxoplasma, rubella, cytomegalovirus and
herpes (TORCH), toxic metal screen, handle any health problems,
stop all drugs and medicines unless essential.

For good nutrition, both men and women should avoid refined
carbohydrates, processed foods and foods with artificial
additives, and instead eat an adequate amount of protein, plenty
of fresh fruit and vegetables (especially dark-green, leafy
vegetables) and whole grains. They should also cut down on
consumption of tea and coffee, get regular exercise and try to
cope with stress.

The writer is educational staff of Southeast Asian Ministry of
Education Organization -- Tropical Medicine, Regional Center for
Community Nutrition, University of Indonesia.