Whether you are planning to get pregnant or hope it will happen one day, these steps will help you get ready for pregnancy and conceive a healthier baby and stay healthier yourself. It’s easy to approach pregnancy nonchalantly – it’s been done for thousands of years. But many women, upon delivery, wish they did something differently during pregnancy.
Taking prenatal vitamins and cutting caffeine are well-known facts, but they are only a small part of what you could know to empower yourself through a better pregnancy. We’ve compiled the top 10 things you should do before conceiving.
1. Get to your best weight now. Losing weight is known to have many advantages but especially so for pregnant women. Your BMI is particularly important. A study in Human Reproduction showed that for every BMI point above 29 your chances of conceiving drop 4%.
In addition to easier conception, being at a good weight when you get pregnant will make it easier to go through 9 months of potentially gaining 15-30 pounds. Take the load off now and spend time on getting as close as you can to your ideal weight.
This may not necessarily mean losing, you may need to gain a few pounds to get stronger and eat more nutritiously. There are several sites and tools that help you calculate what your ideal weight is, though few take into account your muscle mass, so use your best judgment. Some helpful calculators include:
- healthstatus.com/calculate
- healthcentral.com/diet-exercise
- fitnessonline.com/tools/idealweight
- active.com/fitness/calculators
2. If you don’t have one already, develop a steady exercise routine, so when you get pregnant, you can continue with modifications as you go along. Maintaining cardio health and muscle toning will go a long way in helping you cope with pregnancy aches and pains and relieve stress.
Studies show that exercise during pregnancy promotes growth of the placenta which increases the amount of nutrients and oxygen delivered to the baby. It will also help you sleep better, a true gift during pregnancy. However, beware not to overdo on exercise.
American Society for Reproductive Medicine states that too much exercise, such as running 2 miles every day of the week, can have a negative effect on fertility.
3. Tone your abs. If you are hoping for a vaginal delivery, and I would dare say majority of women would prefer this option over a more invasive c-section surgery, having strong abs will help you in the pushing process.
Crunches are your best bet in keeping your abs strong for delivery and they will also help prevent back pain later in the pregnancy.
While you may continue ab work during pregnancy, American College of Gynecologists recommends you should not do them on your back after the 4th month of pregnancy, since by then the weight of the baby puts too much pressure on the blood vessels responsible for yours and baby’s oxygen.
You may still able to continue abdominal exercises in a side position or using an exercise ball paying attention to your breathing and heart rate.
4. Quit smoking if you do. When you smoke, your baby will be ingesting all the carcinogens that cigarettes are full of. So you are not only setting the baby for potential birth defects and not giving him enough oxygen, but also setting him to be a smoker one day, as children of smokers are very likely to light up one day too.
Smoking by pregnant women is known to cause low birth weight in babies and lead to miscarriage. Quitting smoking is not easy, so do it before you conceive. The same applies to drinking and drugs – stop both before you get pregnant.
5. Let your gynecologist know you are planning to conceive, and she will likely have you start on prenatal vitamins a few months in advance. Building up your supply of folic acid (a key ingredient in prenatal vitamins) will help you create a healthier baby.
If you can’t pay for prescription vitamins yet or are not sure about your provider yet, at least make sure you are taking a regular over-the-counter multi-vitamin. Research shows that taking folic acid even just a month in advance of conception cuts your risk of having a child with neural tube defects by 70 percent.
6. Cut down on caffeine. Studies show that consuming more than 3 cups of coffee a day lowers your chances of getting pregnant. If you are already taking in 3 cups of java, start by cutting 1 cup out completely, then switch 1 to decaf and make sure to add a good amount of milk to both cups.
This way you are reducing caffeine and adding more calcium into your diet, which is necessary for your bones since the baby will quickly take your calcium supply. Ideally, try to not drink more than 1 cup of coffee a day and either make it decaf or add enough milk to dilute the caffeine.
Although tea also contains caffeine, it’s a much lower amount, so switching to tea is another option. Hold off on green teas, since their effect on pregnancy is not fully researched.
7. Get off the birth control pill if you are taking one. There is no waiting time – you are able to get pregnant immediately – but it takes up to 3 months for some women to get their cycle back and thus get pregnant. According to the Mayo Clinic, you may have just a 2-week delay before you ovulate again and your period will follow 6 weeks after your last pill.
You can get pregnant once you ovulate again. While in the past doctors considered immediate conception after stopping the pill increased your miscarriage risks, but research did not prove this. The only real benefit of waiting to conceive after stopping the pill is being able to date your pregnancy, since having even just one period will let you know when you ovulate.
8. If you never had or been vaccinated against rubella (German measles), you should do it before conception, as it’s a very dangerous disease for a pregnant woman and unborn child. Once vaccinated, wait 1-3 months before conceiving.
In the past doctors recommended 3 months but a recent CDC study states that 28 days is enough for your body to process the vaccine. If you don’t wait long enough, the live vaccine could cause serious birth defects in unborn children. I would err on the side of caution and wait as long as you can.
9. Get your finances in order. No matter what your situation is, you should go into pregnancy with a clear picture of your money matters. If you don’t already have a family budget, consider creating one. Quicken has a great free tool for this process – Free Quicken Online automatically categorizes your expenses.
Aside from budgeting, think about the expenses that the new baby and pregnancy will bring. Potential expenditures include health insurance payments for you during pregnancy and for the baby once born (even if you have one, there will be plenty of charges that are not covered by insurance), baby furniture and essentials (check our list of essentials here), possible daycare expenses and saving for education (yes, save as early as you can).
It may be easy to get overwhelmed by all the future needs, so take it easy and look for savings where you can. Either way, having a realistic picture of your needs is better than being surprised when the bills start pouring in.
10. Get used to a healthy diet and plenty of water before you get pregnant. Food and Drug Administration guidelines for a healthy daily prenatal diet include 7 servings of fruit or vegetables, 6 servings of grains (whole-grain preferred), 2 servings of lean protein (lean beef, poultry, or fish), and 3 servings of calcium-rich foods.
Getting used to drinking a lot of water will be helpful when you are pregnant, since consuming water will minimize water retention during pregnancy (by cycling through you more effectively). Plus, you will be able to transport nutrients to the developing fetus quicker thanks to frequently flushing your body with water.
