Take Home Messages

Optimizing nutritional status before, during and after pregnancy and lactation is vital to mother and baby's health
- - 300mcg DHA and 220mcg EPA is minimum recommended amount during pregnancy. Encourage your patients to obtain this by eating fish and/or by supplementing with fish oil.
  - Folic acid is ideally supplemented at least 3 months prior to conception to obtain steady maternal blood levels and consequently prevent >50% NTDs and optimize fetal outcome.
Massage therapy can reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, leg and back pain, and decrease rates of prematurity.
Acupuncture is shown to reduce pelvic and back pain, and nausea and vomiting.
Yoga reduces incidence of preterm birth and low birth weight, and leads to fewer complications during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding is an issue to be addressed early in the pregnancy.
Perineal massage is associated with reduced incidence of trauma requiring suturing, and reduced incidence of episiotomy.
This webmodule has been limited to the integrative approach to prenatal care. Many patients may want to discuss alternative and complementary therapies during labor, however most trials have been focused on reducing pain during labor.
- - Acupuncture, aromatherapy, hypnosis and music have been shown to be beneficial in pain management during labor (Smith, Collins et al, 2006).

(sabertasche2, Belly, flickr. CC: BY-SA 2.0. Downloaded on August 3, 2009.)