The following information is in response to the question:

We have all heard media stories in the past about how women are killed just for their babies. What precautions should a pregnant woman take to protect herself from some nut job that might be watching her so that they can snatch a baby?

The first point to keep in mind is that these types of crimes are extremely rare when one considers the annual birth rate in the United States.  That being said, these crimes do occur and therefore it is important to understand this threat and take important steps to avoid becoming a statistic.

By the very intent of this type of crime, the period that an expectant mother is most vulnerable is the third-trimester. Since the perpetrator intends to masquerade the child as her own, she is not likely to put her assault plan into motion prior to this time since it is preferred that the birth mother carry the child close to full term.

The second most crucial timeframe is post-partum up until the newborn adds 10-15 pounds to its birth weight.  The reason for this is because as the child develops it becomes extremely difficult for the abductor to present the child as her own, particularly among family, friends and neighbors.

Taking the first point into consideration, practically all pre-planned criminal activities rely upon two critical components if there is to be any chance of success, namely; surprise and predictability. Speed is also important but generally less vital than the previous components. Your goal then is to deny criminals the element of surprise and to adopt patterns that make you less time and place predictable.

You will be able to defeat surprise by fine-tuning your suspicious nature and embracing the sixth sense that accompanies it.  Everyone has an example of feeling the hair at the nape of your neck stand-up.  Chances are if you can recall the exact instance when it last occurred, you were confronted with a situation that was abnormal to your personal level of comfort; that which looks, feels, tastes or smell foul usually is.  This is an example of sensual stimuli (6th sense) – recognize and embrace it for what it is and the role it plays in your personal safety and survival.

There is great value in reducing predictability.  Ninety-nine point nine percent of criminals do not want to be caught -period!  Many take painstaking steps to survey their intended target in an effort to expose vulnerabilities that given their limited capability are susceptible to exploitation.  What this really means is that the criminal needs to determine when and where she will strike. If you can avoid becoming predicable and stay steps ahead of anyone that targets you, you’ll make matters difficult, and the criminal will move on to survey another potential victim.