Guidelines: Treat Nearly All Women as Pre-Pregnant

Forever Pregnant

New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.

. . . experts say it's important that women follow this advice throughout their reproductive lives, because about half of pregnancies are unplanned and so much damage can be done to a fetus between conception and the time the pregnancy is confirmed.
. . .
Some medical facilities have already found a way to weave preconception care in with regular visits. At Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y., a form that's filled out when checking a patient's height, weight and blood pressure prompts nurses to ask women, "Do you smoke, and do you plan to become pregnant in the next year? And if not, what birth control are you using?"

Great . . a hospital in the Bronx is better able to figure out an equitable system than the federal government.

I understand the need to guard against all the damage done by accidental pregnancies (aside from the fact that better birth control seems a better solution than vitamins) but the fact that it doesn't differentiate for women with tubal ligations, on Depo Provera, etc. is just stupid.

Is it just me, or does the title "Forever Pregnant" sound for the making of a great horror movie? Just like Snakes on a Plane, the name alone could fill the seats.