Things to Avoid when Expecting by Benjamin Todd Eller

OBESITY

The obesity statistics mentioned earlier are quite alarming. It is no wonder we are the leaders in heart disease and diabetes. According to the Mayo Clinic, we should only eat around 25% of fat in our daily diet and preferably unsaturated fats. The salad dressings on the shelves of supermarkets often have only unsaturated fats. However, when we eat too much of this, we start to gain weight. How do we know when we are overweight? There are many BMI calculators or Body Mass Index instruments on the web. Ideally, your BMI should be below 25. However, this can vary given certain factors. For instance, one of the greatest athletes of all time was Alexander Karelin of Russia. He won three gold medals and one silver at four different Olympic Games in Greco Roman wrestling, and was undefeated for thirteen years. He competed in the 286 lbs. weight division and is 6 ft. 4 inches tall. His BMI was officially 34.8 which technically makes him obese. However, if you look at Karelin’s physique, he has very little fat. It is primarily muscle and so in this particular instance, the BMI index is not a good measure. Most people do not train like world class athletes. If you do, then the BMI index should be looked at with scrutiny. However, if you are one of the 99.9% of people who do not train like a world class athlete, the BMI index should work as a good measure of your weight. 

ALCOHOL

Please, no alcohol if you are pregnant and very little if you are not. We realize that it seems that we are preaching right now. For that, we apologize. We also realize that most people drink. Seventy-six percent of Americans consume alcohol according to the latest Gallup Poll. The average American consumes 3.8 gallons of alcohol per year according to the World Health Organization. Alcohol increases the chances of diabetes, obesity, cancer and harms the liver. This you probably already knew. However, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking has very damaging effects on the brain. Obviously we know that people get high or black out from drinking, but this can cause permanent damage. Fifty-one percent of college students in one study stated that they engage in binge drinking. This type of drinking has caused a variety of damage to the brain to many individuals including: 

1. Wernicke–Korsakoff Syndrome – damage to thalamus and hypothalamus which causes inability to form new memories and loss of old memories.
2. Drinking for 8 weeks can cause memory loss for over 12 weeks. 
3. Continual and habitual drinking can cause permanent damage to several areas of the brain including the cerebellum which is responsible for coordination and forms of learning. 

SMOKING

Due nicotine, carbon monoxide and many other poisons, smoking will do the following to unborn babies:

• Increase the chances of miscarriage and stillbirth.
• Lower oxygen available to you and your growing baby
• Increase baby’s heart rate
• Increase the risk of premature birth
• Increase your baby’s risk of developing respiratory (lung) problems
• Increase risk of birth defects
• Increase risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

If you cannot resist the urge to smoke while pregnant, immediately tell your doctor and seek professional help for this addiction. 

SECOND HAND SMOKE

All the above things can happen to your unborn child if you are around someone who does smok. Just about anyone with any common sense realizes that smoking is bad for us, but there is still controversy over second hand smoke. Fran Lebowitz is an American author, speaker and one of my favorite people. I have not met this woman, but I hope to. She is brilliant, brash and one of the great humorists in American history. I feel guilty criticizing this amazing woman, but it brings me to a vital point of this book, and an extremely vital point about humanity. IF SOMETHING GIVES US PLEASURE, WE BELIEVE IN IT. Smoking gives Fran Lebowitz pleasure. She has stated that second hand smoke is not harmful. I have met many smokers who believe this. Unfortunately, this is not true. Consider the statistics below: 

1. Around 45 million Americans smoke (CDC)
2. Smoking Kills around 440,000 Americans a year (CDC)
3. 126 million Americans are exposed to secondhand smoke (CDC)
4. Cigarettes contain over 250 toxic elements and are the most addictive thing on earth ever more than Crack Cocaine (CDC).
5. 60% of children are exposed to secondhand smoke (CDC)
6. Second hand smoke causes 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 22,700-69,600 heart disease deaths annually among adult nonsmokers in the United States. (California Environment Protection Agency).
7. Second hand smoke kills and harms non-smokers according to the American Medical Association. They have launched an initiative to make the public more aware of these dangers. They also state second hand smoke can be just as harmful as first hand smoke.
8. Dr. Jacqueline Pongracic, the head of the Allergy and Immunology Children’s Hospital, states that second hand smoke causes respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, pneumonia ear infections and asthma attacks and other harmful symptoms. It is not okay to smoke while children are away because the smoke lingers in the furniture and cloth.   
9. Children are twice as likely to become smokers if a parent smokes. Children of parent smokers are more likely to miss school, become sick and have behavioral problems (AMA). 
10. We know that second hand smoke causes premature death and disease (AMA). 
11. Smokers should only smoke outside and make homes smoke free. 1-800-QUITE NOW (AMA). 

Please do not be in the same room with individuals who smoke while pregnant or have anyone smoke near your baby. If there are members of your household who do smoke, make them go outside to enjoy their cigarettes or tobacco. 

DRUGS

Illegal drugs will do all the harmful things that cigarettes can do and more to your unborn child and second hand smoke from these substances will also greatly harm a child. If you are not able to resist such substances, seek help immediately from your doctor. 

EATING DISORDERS

• 10 million American suffer from eating disorders according to the National Eating Disorder Association. 9 million are women and 1 million are men. These disorders include anorexia, binge eating, and bulimia. 
• An estimated 10-15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are males. Many clinicians believe that this figure is underreported because many men are ashamed to admit that they may be suffering from something thought to affect only women. 
• Eating disorders are becoming more prevalent among male athletes. Newsweek magazine reported 40% of 131 Cornell University football players surveyed engaged in bingeing and purging.
• According to a study in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, 83% of ballet dancers surveyed reported some form of eating disorder. 
• Seventy-seven percent of individuals with eating disorders report that the illness can last anywhere from one to 15 years or even longer in some cases. It is estimated that approximately six percent of serious cases die. For many others, there are long-term, irreversible consequences which can affect one’s physical and emotional health. Up to now, only 50% all people with this devastating disease report being cured.
• One in 200 American women suffers from anorexia.
• Two to three in 100 American women suffer from bulimia.
• 1.1% – 4.2% of females suffer from bulimia nervosa in their lifetime.
• As many as 10% of college women suffer from a clinical or nearly clinical eating disorder, including 5.1% who suffer from bulimia nervosa.
• Studies indicate that by their first year of college, 4.5 to 18% of women and 0.4% of men have a history of bulimia.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD): 

• 5-10% of anorexics die within 10 years after contracting the disease and 18-20% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years.
• Anorexia nervosa has the highest death rate of any psychiatric illness (including major depression).
• The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15-24 years old.

If you are suffering from anorexia or bulimia, please seek treatment immediately. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, psychotherapy, including individual, group and family-based, can help address the psychological reasons for the illness. Some studies suggest that family-based therapies in which parents assume responsibility for feeding their afflicted adolescent are the most effective in helping a person with anorexia gain weight and improve eating habits and moods. Also, different types of medications have shown to be helpful as well. Without treatment, up to 20% of people with serious eating disorders die. With treatment, the mortality rate falls to 2-3%. The biggest problem is getting someone to go to treatment. Only one in ten individuals will get treatment for an eating disorder. This is due to denial, embarrassment and also the extreme cost of treatment which can run up to $500 per day.