Before Getting Pregnant…

If you are planning on getting pregnant or are already pregnant, see a doctor right away. Your health is more important now than ever before. Choose a doctor you can trust and feel comfortable with. Discuss any health problems you have or have had in the past. Learn what the doctor has to say about conceiving. If you are in treatment with a different doctor or mental health physician, make sure to let your obstetrician know. Here are some tips to help insure a healthy pregnancy:

Folic Acid & Pregnancy

Get 400 micrograms of folic acid every day. You can get folic acid (folate) in three ways: eat foods fortified with it, take a multivitamin, or take a folic acid pill. Opt for the folic acid pill daily and you can be sure you are getting enough. Taking folate before conceiving and 3 months after getting pregnant will prevent many birth defects. Your baby could be born with spina bifida if you do not have enough folate. Folic acid also aids in the development of a healthy brain. You can find folic acid in pharmacies or you can get a prescription from your doctor. Often you can find them at the grocery store. Some food rich in folate are list here:

Orange juice
Kidney beans
Citrus fruits
Leafy green vegetables
Broccoli
Asparagus
Peas
Lentils
Peanuts
Whole grain products
Some enriched foods like bread, pastas, cereals, and rice

If you are planning to conceive, all the better because you can start preparing now. But if you find that you are already expecting, begin your healthy regime right away.

Pregnancy Diet

Plan your diet. Determine not to eat too many fried foods and foods loaded with sugar, high fructose corn syrup.
Load up on fruits and whole grains (read the ingredients label), vegetables.
Eat calcium rich foods like broccoli, non-fat or low fat yogurt, and milk.
Eat more chicken and turkey and fish (consult with your doctor about what type and how much fish to eat) and eat beef sparingly.

Rethink Tobacco and Alcohol

Quitting smoking is hard, but you can do it. Smoking is not only very harmful to you, but is harmful for your baby.
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is not a good thing

Sleep

Get your zzz’s: seven to nine hours of sleep each night is the recommendation.

Stress

Get a grip on the stress in your life. Set limits for yourself and communicate your plan with your family and friends. Initiate their help. Learn to delegate and to say no to things that someone else can handle.

Exercise

If you exercise now, you can continue to do almost everything you are used to doing. If you are not into exercising, do not start a strenuous routine now. Walking is a great way to get and stay in shape, and is good even if you haven’t been doing it. Check with your doctor.

Health Problems

Talk to your doctor about any health problems. Find out what you need to do in preparation for getting pregnant.
If you have diabetes, make sure you monitor your blood sugar levels
If you have high blood pressure, monitor this as well
Talk to your doctor about any weight problems, and do your best to get in shape if you are not yet pregnant.

Family & Friends Pregnancy Advice

Unless you are keeping your pregnancy private, talk to your family and friends about what to expect. But don’t let them tell too many frightening stories. Especially talk with your mother, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers.
Remember that pregnancy is different for everyone. Learn about the positive, go easy on the negative. Ask about morning sickness, labor, and coping with the changes in your body.

Immunizations

Make sure you have all your immunizations up to date. Once you are pregnant, it may be too late. Your doctors can tell you what ones you may need.

Hepatitis and Others

Get checked for Hepatitis B and C. Make sure you are clear of any sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Get an HIV test.

Medications

Go over the medications you are taking with your doctor. Make sure you tell him/her about over-the-counter, prescription, and herbal medications.

Your Partner

Studies show that men who smoke, drink in excess, or use illicit drugs can have problems with their sperm. Ask him to refrain from using.

Charting Fertility Patterns

Your chances of conceiving are higher when you have intercourse just before or after ovulation. You can count the days from the first day for your period and figure your ovulation from there, but you need to know your cycle pretty well for this method.
You can also take your temperature every morning before you get out of bed and plot it on a graph. When your temperature drops one day and spikes the next, you are ovulating. You will need a basal thermometer for this. If it takes a few months to get pregnant, don’t be concerned.
Give it some time before you assume there is a problem.