Preparing for Pregnancy

By preparing yourself physically and emotionally for pregnancy, you can substantially increase your chances of becoming pregnant sooner, as well as avoid many of the risks that may cause miscarriage. Both conception and carrying a child to term make special demands on the body, and ensuring you approach both with the healthiest body possible takes some thought and planning.

Physical preparation
Research indicates a healthy diet and exercise can go a long way toward improving your chances of conceiving and carrying a pregnancy to full term. Eating a healthy diet full of a wide variety of necessary nutrients is a great way to prepare your body for the child it will be carrying. Begin incorporating healthy eating and exercise habits into your routine even before you attempt to conceive, to ensure you are in the best health possible. If you are overweight, reducing your weight even by a small amount can help ensure a healthy pregnancy, and can help you reduce or even avoid many of the physical side effects or pregnancy, including ankle swelling, heartburn, and shortness of breath that typically occurs as the uterus expands and presses on the diaphragm. However, while a small decrease in weight prior to conception can help provide a healthy environment for both mother and baby, avoid losing too much weight, which can put stress on your body and decrease the ability to conceive. Your health care provider can guide you if you are interested in losing weight before pregnancy.

If you are significantly overweight, you may want to consider undergoing a weight loss program before attempting to conceive. Studies show obese mothers are much more likely to develop a potentially dangerous condition known as gestational diabetes than are those women who are at or near their ideal body weight.

You may also want to consider adding certain supplements, such as folic acid, to your diet to help ensure proper fetal development. Studies have shown proper levels of folic acid can help reduce the risk of spina bifida and other neural tube defects. Most prenatal vitamins include folic acid, also called vitamin B-9, as well as other nutrients vital to the health of you and your baby during pregnancy and beyond. Folic acid should be included in the diet as soon as possible during pregnancy, and even before, to boost fetal health. The nutrient is also available naturally in the form of many leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, as well as citrus fruit, beans and legumes, and many cereals and other foods are fortified with the B-9 vitamin, and a healthy, balanced diet should include all of these foods to ensure you are getting enough folic acid. Before taking any type of supplement or vitamin, it is essential that you speak with your health care provider or obstetrics specialist regarding potential side effects. Your health care provider is also a great resource for recommendations about supplements and vitamins that are ideal for you and your developing baby.

Pregnancy is an ideal time to quit smoking, In fact, if you are planning on becoming pregnant, you should stop smoking several weeks, or even months, prior to trying to conceive in order to ensure your body is completely free of toxins. Continuing to smoke can actually thwart your attempts to conceive, since elements of cigarette smoke can cause changes in the cervical mucus which in turn can make it difficult for sperm to move and to meet with the egg. Smoking during pregnancy ahs been shown to decrease oxygen and nutrient levels which are available to the developing baby, and to result in low birth weight and other neonatal health issues.

You should also avoid or even eliminate consuming alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol consumption can also have significant effects on the development of the baby, resulting in developmental delays and other serious health conditions in your child, and can even result in miscarriage. And, although you may crave that morning cup of coffee, recent research shows even this should be avoided or even eliminated, along with other caffeinated beverages and foods.

Generally, it’s also a good idea to plan a pre-pregnancy visit with your health care provider, to identify any underlying conditions or health concerns that could interfere with conception or pregnancy. During this visit, your health care provider will take a thorough family health history and make recommendations regarding steps you can take to ensure you are ready for conception and pregnancy. He or she can also review the tests you may undergo during pregnancy, including any blood work, ultrasounds, or other tests that may be used to monitor your pregnancy.

Emotional preparation
In addition to the physical demands of successful conception and pregnancy, there are emotional aspects that also need to be considered when planning to become pregnant. Oftentimes, difficult conceiving can be attributed to increased stress levels in both the male and female partners’ lives. While many stresses may arise as a result of work changes and pressures, or pressures in other areas of daily life, some stress can also arise when couples are at first unsuccessful in their efforts to conceive. As a result, a cycle of stress develops: the couple is unable to conceive, so they become stressful; that stress, in turn, compounds any problems associated with conception. For these reasons, and just for the sake of your own overall good health, it’s important to focus on reducing your stress as much as possible. For some, that may mean regular exercise and healthy diet, two factors which can have a significant impact on stress levels, regular exercise alone helps increase level so of serotonin, the so-called happy hormone that acts as a natural mood elevator. Some couples prefer meditation, deep-breathing exercises, or other holistic activities to reduce stress. Often, stress that occurs as a result of being unable to successfully conceive after one or even a few attempts can be relieved by speaking with your health care provider or a specialist in fertility and conception. Many specialists recommend couples plan to take a relaxing vacation when they want to conceive in order to provide an ideal environment for conception. And while there are herbal products available to help reduce stress, it is important not to take any herbal preparation, drug, or supplement without speaking with your health care provider. Many of these products can have a negative impact on pregnancy and on your unborn child, and so should be avoided.