Physician's Note to Pregnant Women

Dr Adeolu Arikawe, a General Physician, on Wednesday, advised pregnant women to avoid the intake of Vitamin A, as it could cause abnormalities in babies..

Arikawe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that it was important to educate pregnant women about the effect of Vitamin A, in order to have healthy babies.

“A pregnant woman should avoid the intake of Vitamin A in pregnancy as much as possible because it has been identified to be one of the causes of abnormalities in some babies,” he said.

Arikawe also explained that an expectant mother should be encouraged to take some multivitamins, to boost appetite and develop immunity.

“Folic acid is necessary for the development of the foetal nervous system, which starts forming very early in pregnancy.

“It is important to start taking multivitamins before pregnancy to correct any form of deficiency,’’ he said.

He also advised pregnant to be taking blood building drugs for blood production, noting that most pregnant women had low red blood cell concentration.

Arikawe explained that low blood cell concentration could be harmful to the foetus, if below critical point.

“Although there is no special diet for pregnant women, some food items have to be avoided.

For instance, there is risk of acquiring toxoplasmosis infection from raw or under-cooked meat.

“Toxoplasmosis is a parasite that does significant damage to the feotus than it does to the mother,’’ Arikawe said.

WebMed, the online medical journal, describes toxoplasmosis as an infection caused by a parasite, called toxoplasmagondii, that can threaten the health of an unborn child.

It says one can get the infection from handling soil or cat litter that contains cat faeces infected with the parasite.

It added that one can also get it from eating undercooked meat from animals infected with the parasite, or from uncooked foods that have come in contact with contaminated meat. (NAN)