( BLACK PR WIRE) ( December 26, 2008) It takes nine months to deliver a baby into the world, but permanent damage to an unborn child can happen a few weeks after conception if an expectant mother doesn’t receive appropriate prenatal care. With so many pregnancies being unplanned, the time between conception and when a woman discovers she is pregnant is a crucial period. This is why guidelines recently issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are stressing that any woman who is capable of bearing a child start taking care of herself now to ensure optimal health of her future children.

It’s particularly important that black women get the word out to each other. In a May 16, 2006 article of the Washington Post, the National Center for Health Statistics reports that babies born to black mothers have a death rate of 13.5 for every 1,000 live births – the highest rate of all ethnic groups – while babies of white mothers have a death rate of 5.7 for 1,000 live births.

Most of the CDC recommendations are beneficial to any woman, even if she never becomes pregnant. They include taking vitamin supplements recommended for women, especially folic acid, quitting use of tobacco and other drugs, limiting alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy diet and body weight, having all necessary vaccinations, avoiding lead-based paints, and keeping any chronic medical conditions under control.

A woman may not consider these issues important to discuss with her physician if she is neither pregnant nor trying to get pregnant. But if she waits until she is pregnant, she might have a difficult time making changes like suddenly quitting smoking, for example. Mothers in the black community can help out by relating their own experiences and gently encouraging young women to start healthy habits for their own benefit, and the next generation’s benefit.