Preconception health changes allow you to prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy — and some steps can even increase your odds of getting pregnant more quickly. What do you need to know?
Preparing Your Body for Pregnancy
There are several important things that you should do before becoming pregnant to ensure a healthy pregnancy:
Optimize your weight. Being either too heavy or underweight can decrease your chances of becoming pregnant and/or lead to complications during pregnancy. If you are planning to become pregnant, you may want to try to shed those extra pounds (or gain a little if you are underweight). You want to enter a pregnancy as healthy as you can be. If you are struggling with your weight, consider talking to your doctor or a nutritionist before you try to conceive.
Eat a healthy diet. You boost your chances of becoming pregnant when you are healthy, and a balanced diet is an essential component of good health. You will also be laying the groundwork for a healthy pregnancy (and a healthy baby) by eating properly before you get pregnant. Enlist your spouse or partner's assistance — after all, he, too, has a vested interest in helping you to eat well and healthily. And you will both need to be in peak physical condition for those long sleepless nights to come!
Quit smoking. Smoking can lead to fertility problems, low birth weight babies, premature labor and a host of other problems for both mother and baby. If you are planning to become pregnant, throw those cigarettes away now, before you find yourself staring at that positive pregnancy test. Ask your doctor for help with quitting smoking if needed, because it can be hard. Remember to also avoid second hand smoke, which can be just as harmful. Ask others not to smoke around you. If your spouse or partner smokes, he should also join you in your effort to quit. Cigarette smoking can also affect male fertility, and it's better to quit now, before you have a baby in the home.
Start prenatal vitamins. You can start taking prenatal vitamins before you are pregnant. Folic acid and iron are two things that your body will need in larger quantities when you become pregnant, so you can start ahead of time to ensure that you are getting enough of these by supplementing. Ask your physician about starting on a maternal vitamin regimen while you are trying to conceive. In addition, taking a folic acid supplement reduces your risk of certain birth defects.
Preparing Your Mind for Pregnancy
If you are planning on becoming pregnant, it is important to be sure that you are ready mentally as well as physically. There are several things that you may want to consider in terms of your readiness for parenthood:
Your career. If you have a stressful job or are in a career that demands a lot of you physically and mentally, you will need to decide before becoming pregnant whether you will continue working or if you would like to make any career changes. Mental stress can be hard on you during a pregnancy, so you may want to ensure that you will be able to focus on yourself rather than your career when you are pregnant.
Financial considerations. Financial stress can be a lot to deal with when you are pregnant. Having a baby is expensive. Medical bills, the cost of having the baby in hospital, time off work and the supplies your baby needs can all demolish your budget, so it helps to be ready financially for the costs associated with having a baby. Having a plan in pace can help relieve the stress associated with financial worry.
Your mental health. Are you in a good place in your life? Do you suffer from depression or other conditions which will require special consideration should you become pregnant? Emotional readiness for pregnancy and parenthood can be more difficult than physical readiness. Be sure that this is the right time in your life and that you have the support of everyone around you, including your partner! Above all, new parents need to be resilient and ready for any of the changes life throws at them.
Other Considerations for Pregnancy
The following are some other items you may want to consider before becoming pregnant:
Choose an obstetrician. Before you become pregnant you may want to choose an obstetrician, if you have not already done so. Your obstetrician will be very important to you in the coming months; be sure you are comfortable with him/her and that your philosophies on pregnancy and childbirth mesh.
Know your family history. It is helpful to know your family medical history before you become pregnant. Ask your family and your partner's family specifically about any genetic disorders that may run in the family. Ask your relatives, including your mother and sister(s) if you have any, about any unexpected complications they may have experienced during pregnancy. Your obstetrician will want to know about your family health history, in addition to your own health history and your partner's. Don't worry if you don't have access to this information, which can happen for a wide variety of reasons. But if you do have access, make the most of it so you can prepare for anything!
Review your medications with your doctor and pharmacist. It is important to know if any medications you are taking, both prescribed and over the counter, can be harmful during pregnancy or to your developing baby. Be sure your physician is aware of all the drugs you are taking, including any herbal supplements.
Have a dental check-up. If you haven't been to your dentist in a while, it is a good idea to go before becoming pregnant. Certain oral conditions can adversely affect your growing baby, and you also don't want to experience any dental problems during pregnancy.
You know have a lot to think about before you become pregnant! Although this list is long, it is by no means all-encompassing. You may want to talk to friends and relatives to ask if there are any other items that they think should be added to the list. By addressing these areas, you will be putting yourself in prime position for pregnancy and motherhood.