Healthy Pregnancy and Babies
Pregnancy is a special time in a woman's life, when she is dealing
with changes in her own body and starting to think about incorporating
a new baby into her family. A healthy pregnancy has a lasting influence
on the well-being of a woman, her infant and future children, and
her family and community.
With the support of their partners, families and communities,
women can achieve a healthy lifestyle before, during and after
pregnancy. This lifestyle would include positive relationships,
good strategies for dealing with stress, a healthy diet with a
daily supplement of folic acid, regular physical activity, and
avoidance of tobacco and recreational drugs. It is also safer for
women to avoid alcohol during pregnancy, as we don't know enough
about how much alcohol is safe for pregnant women.
Health Canada works with First Nations and Inuit communities toward
building their capacity to empower parents to maintain and improve
the health of their children and themselves. This is accomplished
through community-based programs such as the  Canada
Prenatal Nutrition Program, as well as the prevention
and early intervention focussed Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Program.
Additional Information on the FASD Program:
If you are pregnant, or are planning to become pregnant, visit
our Healthy Living section for information
on how to make sure you have a healthy pregnancy.
Information is also available on how to create and maintain a baby's
healthy development during the first years of
life.
Additional Resources
The Healthy Pregnancy campaign for First Nations and Inuit includes
a resource with information on what you can do for a healthy pregnancy; posters to
put up in your community; and radio advertisements which
are playing on Aboriginal radio stations . The First Nations resources
are available in English and French, while the Inuit resources
are in English and Inuktitut.
Information Resource
 Pregnancy
is a special time for you, your family and your community. The
choices you make before and during pregnancy can affect the health
of your baby now and in the future.
The Our
Community Supports Healthy Pregnancies resource has
some great tips on staying healthy during your pregnancy, including:
- Planning a pregnancy;
- Eating well and being active;
- Having an alcohol free pregnancy;
- Being pregnant and drug free;
- Having a smoke-free pregnancy; and
- Maintaining oral health during pregnancy.
Posters
Radio Ads
Access the healthy pregnancy audio files of our radio ads to listen
to some discussions about making healthy choices during pregnancy.
The transcripts are also available in text format for you to read.
- Avoid
Harmful Substances - A community prenatal
group talks about why it's important to avoid drugs and
alcohol during pregnancy.
- Eat
Healthy, Be Active - A couple expecting
their first baby talks about eating well and being active
during pregnancy.
- Go
Smoke-free - Teenage parents-to-be talk
about why it's important to smoke less - or not at all
- during pregnancy.
- Planning
a Pregnancy - A young couple talks about
why it's good to have a planned pregnancy.
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