Strategies to Protect and Improve Maternal and Child Health

Below are selected public health strategies to protect and improve maternal and child health.

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Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Cancer
Immunizations
Injury
Nutrition
Pregnancy
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs and HIV/AIDS)
Smoking and Tobacco

Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

• CDC estimates that 50-70% of two common and serious birth defects – spina bifida and anencephaly - could be prevented if all women of childbearing age consumed 0.4 mg (400 micrograms) of folic acid daily before and during early pregnancy.
  
  Folic Acid Recommendations
  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/health_recomm.htm
   
• Women should not drink alcohol at any time during pregnancy. There is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant, and there also does not appear to be a safe time to drink during pregnancy, either. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition characterized by abnormal facial features, growth retardation, and central nervous system problems and can occur if a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy.
  
  Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fas/

Cancer

• Screening women using the Papanicolaou (Pap) test is an important strategy that can prevent cervical cancer from developing most of the time by finding lesions at an early stage when they can be removed before they become cancer.
  
  Cervical Cancer and Pap Test Information
  http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/info-cc.htm

Immunizations

• Vaccines work to safeguard children [and others] from illnesses and death caused by infectious diseases. Vaccines protect children by helping prepare their bodies to fight often serious, and potentially, deadly diseases.
  
  How Vaccines Prevent Disease
  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/howvpd.htm

Injury

• Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants and by 54% for toddlers ages 1 to 4 years. For children 4 to 7 years, belt-positioning booster seats reduce injury risk by 59% compared to safety belts alone.
  
  Child Passenger Safety: Prevention Strategies
  http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/childpasprevention.htm

Nutrition

• Breastfeeding is the healthiest choice for mother and baby. A mother's milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby's growth and development. Most babies find it easier to digest breast milk than they do formula. Breast milk has agents (called antibodies) in it to help protect infants from bacteria and viruses and to help them fight off infection and disease.
  
  Having a Healthy Pregnancy
  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/bd/abc.htm
  
  Breast Feeding: Best for Baby, Best for Mom
  http://www.womenshealth.gov/Breastfeeding/ (Non-CDC site)

Pregnancy

• Prenatal care is medical care provided to a pregnant woman to prevent complications and decrease the incidence of maternal and prenatal mortality. Inadequate use of prenatal care has been associated with increased risk for low infant birth weight, premature births, neonatal mortality, infant mortality, and maternal mortality.
  
  Prenatal Care: National Center for Health Statistics Definitions
  http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/datawh/nchsdefs/prenatalcare.htm

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs and HIV/AIDS)

• For the prevention of perinatal HIV transmission, a key strategy is universal, routine HIV screening of all pregnant women as early as possible during pregnancy.
  
  Perinatal HIV Prevention Program: Background
  http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/projects/perinatal/background.htm
   
• Pregnant women should be screened on their first prenatal visit for sexually transmitted diseases which may include chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and syphilis.
  
  STDs and Pregnancy
  http://www.cdc.gov/std/STDFact-STDs&Pregnancy.htm

Smoking and Tobacco

• Quitting smoking has immediate as well as long-term benefits, reducing risks for diseases caused by smoking and improving health in general.
  
  Four Major Conclusions of the Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General
  http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2004/Factsheets/9.htm

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This page last reviewed April 15, 2005
This page last updated March 12, 2008
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/women/owh/worldhd/strateg.htm

US Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Office of Women's Health