Working Woman, by the Department of Health's chief nursing officer, Ms Jacqueline Lightbourne.

Over the past decade, great technological advances have been made in the field of perinatology and neonatology. Obstetricians, using such tools as ultrasound, amniocentesis and electronic foetal monitoring, can diagnose a wide variety of foetal disorders and in many cases, effectively treat their unborn and unseen little patient.

In addition, neonatologists have developed elaborate neonatal intensive care units, where infants weighing as little as one and a half pounds can now be kept alive with the use of specially designed infant respirators, sophisticated monitoring equipment, intravenous feeling, new antibiotics and expert nursing care.

The cost of premature and other sick infants is staggering, but in terms of finances and in terms of larger number of physicians, nurses and other medical personnel committed to the care of these babies.

There are many reasons why a mother may deliver a premature underweight or imperfectly developed infant. But unfortunately medical science has not come up with all the answers. For example, we do not know why certain babies are born with severe abnormalities, nor why some pregnancies end in miscarriage or in premature labour.

On the other hand through these of widespread immunisation, we have been able to prevent German measles during pregnancy and therefore eliminate the disease's devastating effects on the foetus. We have also made great strides in the care of diabetic women who are pregnant. In the past many infants of diabetic mothers would be stillborn, grossly overweight or sickly. As a result of recent medical advances in our knowledge, most infants of diabetic mothers are now born healthy and of normal birth weight, if the mother has excellent obstetrical care, beginning early in pregnancy.

While the birth of a normal infant can never be guaranteed, there are a number of steps that should be taken to increase its likelihood. Avoidance of unnecessary drugs, alcohol, tobacco and environmental pollutants both before and during pregnancy, is vital to increasing the odds of a baby born healthy.

Moreover, the importance of high quality nutrition in improving the outcome of pregnancy cannot be stressed enough. Good eating habits should not merely begin at the time of conception or end after delivery or following the end of breast-feeding. Eating well must be a way of life and should become a family affair. The spouse of the woman who is either pregnant or planning to be must not only be supportive of his wife's good diet, but should also eat well himself.

During the childbearing process, expectant parents are faced with many decisions, questions, challenges and issues. It is easy to feel anxious or fearful concerning the outcome of pregnancy -- to wonder about the health of the baby, how the labour will go and what impact the baby will have on one's life. The transition from being a couple to becoming parents is both exciting and demanding, perhaps more so than any other change.

It is important to keep in mind that pregnancy is not a disease or an illness, but rather a physiological state that is often wonderfully normal, in spite of how complicated this entire process seems to us. As a functioning model of balances activity, our bodies are capable of accomplishing amazing tasks, especially if we take care of ourselves.