What major risk factors should be addressed during pregnancy to support healthy birth outcomes?

• A. Regular exercise and good nutrition
• B. Genetic factors only
• C. Smoking, alcohol/illicit drug use, poor nutrition, inadequate prenatal care, unmanaged chronic conditions, environmental exposures
• D. Only age

Answer: (C)

Addressing a broad set of modifiable risks and health-system factors during pregnancy is key to supporting healthy birth outcomes. This includes avoiding tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs, since these substances harm fetal growth and development; ensuring good nutrition and appropriate supplementation to meet fetal needs; receiving regular prenatal care so potential problems are detected and managed early; keeping unmanaged chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension under control to reduce complications; and limiting environmental exposures that can affect fetal development. While regular exercise and good nutrition are important pieces of overall maternal health, they don’t alone cover the wide range of risk factors that pregnancy care aims to address. Genetics and age can influence risk, but they aren’t the targets of the broad, actionable risk-reduction efforts encompassed here.