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Dr. Rubin provides the following tips:

• Take your daily prenatal vitamin with folic acid. This has been shown to decrease the risk of neural tube defects.

• Make sure you avoid dangerous chemicals, such as alcohol, nicotine and other drugs. Emerging research studies on caffeine show that as little as one to two cups of coffee per day can lower the baby’s birth weight and possibly increase your risk of miscarriage.

• Be careful of which chemicals you apply to your skin. Small amounts of topical ingredients are absorbed into your bloodstream where they can easily reach the growing fetus. Many commonly used ingredients have remote links to birth defects in published studies.

• Developed by Dr. Rubin, Belli Pregnancy skincare products offer one way to help women guard against harmful and even questionable ingredients. He’s a member of the Teratology Society and Teratology Information Specialists. Teratology is a rapid-screening system for adverse affects on the fetus. For more information, visit www.belliskincare.com.