How the Healthcare Reform Bill Can Affect Pregnant and TTC Couples

If you live in the US, you've probably heard a lot of buzz about the Healthcare Reform Bill. I don't know about you, but my legal lingo skills fall flat and I don't quite trust anything I read on the net that doesn't provide the source documentation... which seems like just about everything. I've been having a hard time figuring out exactly how this bill will affect the TTC (trying to conceive) community and parents-to-be, but I've gathered up some info that I hope will help clarify the changes. Here's a summary of any number of ways the health care bill might affect you, your family, and your children:


- Requires the Secretary to establish a Pregnancy Assistance Fund for grants to states to assist pregnant and parenting teens and women.  (source)


- Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require employers to provide a reasonable break time and a suitable place, other than a bathroom, for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child. Excludes an employer with less than 50 employees if such requirements would impose an undue hardship. (source)


-Requires a health plan that provides dependent coverage of children to make such coverage available for an unmarried, adult child until the child turns 26 years of age. (source)


- Encourages the Secretary to continue activities on postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis, including research to expand the understanding of their causes and treatment. (source)


-Reauthorizes appropriations for preventive health service programs to immunize children and adults against vaccine-preventable diseases without charge. (source)


- Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 for the expansion and improvement of emergency medical services for children who need treatment for trauma or critical care. (source)


-Prohibits a health insurance issuer offering individual coverage from imposing a preexisting condition exclusion or a waiting period or otherwise discriminating against a woman on the basis that she is pregnant. (source)


If you're a smoker:
 - Provides for Medicaid coverage of counseling and pharmacotherapy for cessation of tobacco use by pregnant women. (source)


If you're considering adoption:
- Increases from $10,000 to $13,170 the dollar limitation on: (1) the tax credit for adoption expenses; and (2) the tax exclusion for employer-provided adoption assistance. (source)


If your child is born with a disability:
- Families won't be turned down (by insurance companies) if a parent or child has a pre-existing disability or other health condition (source)


If you're on Medicaid:
- Requires Medicaid coverage of: (1) freestanding birth center services; and (2) concurrent care for children receiving hospice care. (source)


Note: Most of this information was taken from a summary of the bill itself, the link to which I found through www.senate.gov  (here).  My goal in this was to give a no-frills, broad picture of how the bill is going to affect pregnant and trying to conceive people.  If you have any further information (with a source, preferably) please, please, please! comment or shoot me an email - spread the knowledge!


I hope my little summary helps!

6 Tips on Getting Pregnant

If you've just started trying to conceive, or if you've been trying for a while, you may be looking for a few quick tips on getting pregnant to help you and your partner out. Without breaking the bank or resorting to IVF, here are my top five tips on getting pregnant:

1. Get Fit - For women, this will not only make you healthier, but will also protect the health of a child. Fit women are less likely to suffer from pregnancy complications like high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. For more information, check out this article from March of Dimes.
Surprisingly, according to this article on CNN, being fit can also protect you from an unexpected risk - being discriminated against by your own doctor.  If you're considering IVF, be warned that higher doses of anesthesia necessary to preform IVF on obese women creates a risk that many doctors are not willing to take.

2. Eat Right - Having a balanced, healthy diet can not only help you conceive, but will provide nutrient essential for fetal development.  For example, getting plenty of Folic Acid can help prevent spinal cord related birth defects, but your body needs to be stocked up on it before getting pregnant or during early pregnancy.  For both men and women, vitamins that can help with conception include tissue repairing anti-oxidants, like Vitamen C and E, and Zinc, for healthy cell formation.  If you're worried that you're not getting enough vitamins, consider taking a multivitamin or a vitamin blend specifically geared towards TTC couples, like Fertilaid.

3. Relax - It's common knowledge that stress can have negative effects on our health, repressing our immune systems and striking back at our bodies in the weirdest ways. Trying for a baby can be an especially stressful experience, so make sure that you are emotionally ship-shape as well as physically. Make time in your day to do something you find particularly relaxing - perhaps meditation, exercise, or a hobby like painting.
You can combine my Tips on Getting Pregnant 1 & 3, fitness and relaxation, by adopting a yoga routine, like Bend Breathe and Conceive.

4. Avoid Certain Household Chemicals - According to this article on ovulation-calculator.com and this one on LA Times, a flame-retardant chemical commonly used to coat fabrics, plastics, and carpets has a strong correlation to greatly reduced chances of pregnancy. These chemicals, called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, have been standard in the US since the 70s. Yikes!
If you bought your furniture from IKEA, you may be in luck - European health laws restrict the use of brominated flame retardants.  Californian furniture made after 2004 should also be PBDE free. 

5. Stop Smoking, Using Drugs, and Drinking - This goes for both men and women.  All of these activities inhibit healthy cell production, make it harder to get pregnant, and pose serious risks to the developing baby once you are pregnant. If you need help, consult your health care professional.

6. And finally... Cool Down Those Testes - This one is just for the men. Even a quick dip in a hot bath can interrupt sperm production, which can take up to three months to re-stabilize.  Bath and shower water should be no hotter than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Any hotter and those sperm are toast!

I hope these tips on getting pregnant help you out, maybe even taught you something new! Good luck and stayed tuned - more tips on getting pregnant are always on their way!