What Prospective Mothers Should Do

1. Plan the pregnancy.

2. Take a daily multivitamin with folic acid.

3. Avoid binge drinking (defined as four or more drinks in a row).

4. Update immunizations against all teratogenic viruses, especially rubella.

5. Gain or lose weight, as appropriate.

6. Reassess use of prescription drugs.

7. Develop daily exercise habits.

What Prospective Mothers Really Do (U.S. Data)

1. At least one-fourth of all pregnancies are not intended.

2. About 60 percent of women aged 18 to 45 do not take multivitamins.

3. One in seven women in their childbearing years binge drink.

4. Unlike in many developing nations, relatively few pregnant women in the United States lack basic immunizations.

5. About one-fourth of all U.S. women of childbearing age are obese, and about 5 percent are underweight. Both extremes increase complications.

6. Ninety percent of pregnant women take prescription drugs (not counting vitamins).

7. More than half of women of childbearing age do not exercise regularly.