Is this the time when you have decided to have a baby? Then this info is right for you. Before trying to get pregnant, you should pre-plan some things that can affect your overall health. Your health will affect the long term and overall health of your baby.
By following below advice, you can
- Improve your chances of getting pregnant
- Improve your fertility
- You can save yourself from a problematic pregnancy to some sort.
- Improve overall health of your new member
The most important advice for a woman who wants to get pregnant is to get to know her body, specifically her menstrual cycle, so she can more accurately observe her fertile days and intercourse to get pregnant.
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Things to check when trying to get pregnant
Here are my top 15 tips to consider while trying to get pregnant. The sooner you incorporate these changes, better it is.
1. If you are overweight then work on your body
If you are fit then that’s good but if you are not then you should try to fix it. Pregnancy puts a lot of strain on your body so getting fit before getting pregnancy will help you a lot after conceiving. You should keep your body active, do exercises or yoga. Eat well, sleep well and avoid fried foods.
Research has shown that a woman who is overweight can take twice as long to become pregnant than a woman whose BMI is considered normal. And a woman who is underweight might take four times as long to conceive.
Having too much body fat produces excess estrogen, which can interfere with ovulation. Losing 5 to 10 percent of body weight before a woman starts trying to get pregnant could improve her fertility. And Women who are too thin might not be getting regular periods or could stop ovulating.
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2. If you smoke then quit as soon as possible
You have heard this many times, “smoking kills you slowly”. Smoking can affect the fertility in both man and women. It can damage the DNA of your baby. Smoking is one of the reasons of complicated pregnancy. If you can’t quit smoking by yourself then you should seek for help.
3. Limit alcohol consumption while trying to get pregnant
As we all know large amount of alcohol is not good. However, doctors are not sure about the effect of small amount of alcohol. There is no such definition of small and large amount. Alcohol can react differently in different bodies. There is not much research on this topic that how it affects, so as of now safest option is to stop that or limit its consumption.
4. Go for a good prenatal vitamin
If you are thinking about getting pregnant in next few months then you should start investing in good multivitamins. Good multivitamins itself are packed with lots of nutrients crucial for healthy pregnancy. Like iron can help in anemia, calcium is good for healthy bones, and getting enough vitamin B before and in early pregnancy helps in reducing the brain and spine defects.
5. Start taking Folic acid supplement
If you’re trying to get pregnant, it’s important that you take folic acid tablets for two to three months before you conceive. Folic acid is a vitamin (B9). It is found in certain foods and it can also be taken as tablets. Taking folic acid when planning a pregnancy will help your baby’s healthy growth and development.
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6. Make a good sleep routine
Good sleep means healthy mind and healthy body. Try to take 7 to 8 hours sleep daily. Try to take naps whenever possible. As you know after having baby you can have multiple sleepless nights. So, it’s good to make a routine and improve your sleep habits.
7. Incorporate exercise and do meditation
Being active by doing regular, moderate exercise before and after you conceive will help your fertility as well as benefiting your pregnancy and baby in the long term. Women who are physically active are more likely to have children than who are physically less active.
Do walking as much as possible and also keep in mind that heavy exercises are also not recommended. So be active but be careful also. Getting too much exercise or doing frequent strenuous workouts could interfere with ovulation.
Doctors see a lot of menstrual disturbances in women who exercise heavily, and a lot of times these women need to cut back on their workouts if they want to become pregnant.
8. Have sex every other day during fertile period when trying for pregnancy
Every woman has a fertile window of 6 days, 5 days before ovulation and 1 day after ovulation. During that fertile window every couple should have sex every other day while trying to get pregnant. There are lots of myths that one should have sex daily but research shows, it doesn’t make any difference whether you have sex every day or every other day. Other myth is that sex position matters, but actually it does not.
9. Keep track of your menstrual cycle and fertile window
The key is to keep track of your cycle each month and check for your fertile window. There are so many ways for doing this. Some woman uses ovulation kits, basal body temperature check, cervical mucus change and so on. You can also maintain your calendar every month. There so many apps are also available but these app are not always accurate, so make sure to not rely only on these apps. By keeping track and having sex in most fertile days will increase your chances of getting pregnant.
10. Be aware about age and fertility related issues
As we grow older many things happen in the body. Same happen to women, as they get older their fertility decreases and quality of egg also decreases. With age, there are increase risk of heath related issues also. The decline in the fertility doesn’t mean that one cannot get pregnant, it means it takes longer to get pregnant. In the beginning of 30s, there is slight decline in fertility and a sharper decline after 40s.
11. Eat healthy food
Healthy diet is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle that is always suggested to follow. There is no strict diet to follow when trying to get pregnant. Try to eat variety of healthy foods to prepare your body for pregnancy. Eat variety of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, healthy fat, whole grain and dairy. Also include supplements in your diet. Try to eat diet rich of protein, iron, calcium and other vitamin/minerals.
12. Stay relax and keep away from stress
Stress is the root cause of many problems and it can give birth to many more. Try to stay calm, reduce stress by doing light yoga and meditation. Listen to music, it helps in relaxing brain. Read good books, go for walk, meet people, talk about your worries to your loved ones and get out of any kind of stress. Stress can really reduce your fertility. Stress can delay the process of getting pregnant.
13. Avoid some foods when trying to get pregnant
It is advised to avoid certain type of food while trying to get pregnant and during pregnancy. Some of them are listed below.
- Raw egg, undercooked meat or raw shell fish
- Liver products
- Supplements that are not labeled for pregnancy
- Any unprescribed medication
Always eat washed fruits and vegetables to stay away from any kind of infections
14. Check your vaginal health before trying to get pregnant
Vaginal dryness is very common among women. It is important to check with your doctor about your vaginal health before trying to get pregnant. When you are trying for baby, vaginal dryness can be worse because of frequent intercourse. Some people even try to use lubricants, but they can also be harmful for sperm, so be sure to use sperm-friendly lubricants.
I can even relate myself to this. When I was trying to conceive, I was not aware about this and after 6 months of trying I went to my doctor and guess what, it was an infection. My doctor treated me for that infection and the very next month I got pregnant. small things can make big changes. If you are between age 25 to 45, it is advised to have a vaginal screening test every three years. It is best to get the test before trying to get pregnant.
15. Limit your caffeine intake
Research shows that consuming too much caffeine while you are trying to conceive can increase the risk of miscarriage. This rule applies to both man and women. If you’re planning to conceive, you and your partner should consider limiting your caffeine intake to 200mg a day.
Note
It is also important to consider your partner health for healthy pregnancy. If you are having any doubt regarding men health and low sperm count then it is important to check with your doctor and also consider his fertility. He can also take some steps and make changes to his lifestyle for a healthy pregnancy and healthy future of baby.
When to seek medical help
Consider the points below to know when you should visit to your doctor and get an expert opinion.
- Check with your doctor if you are trying from more than 12 months and your age is less than 35. But if your age is more than 35 then it is advised to wait only for 6 months. But still it’s not a standard time lines and don’t be stressed about these also because stress can also delay the process.
- If you think that u can have some fertility issues then go to the doctor and check about for fertility tests.
- For any genetic or medical condition
- If you are having a history of miscarriages.
