How to prepare your body for pregnancy

A woman’s health and behavior in pregnancy affects the baby. A poor diet, some drugs, certain illnesses, smoking, alcohol…these and other things can hold back the baby’s development or even cause abnormalities. Most women know this, and the knowledge can be worrying

It is the early months of pregnancy that are especially important. In the twelve weeks after conception, all the baby’s organs are formed, including the brain .the nervous system, and the heart. Yet during this vital early time, you may not even know that you are pregnant.

So since no couple can know exactly when they will conceive, it makes sense to ‘prepare’ for pregnancy. Then you can be certain that from the moment of conception onwards you will be giving your baby the best possible chance of being healthy. And you will be less likely to be worried or anxious during pregnancy.

Some women don’t like the idea of’preparing’for pregnancy. They feel pregnancy is something that ought to happen without a lot of planning and they don’t want to think too much about it until it’s happened. A few even feel that if you think too much about it, it won’t happen. Other women feel that preparing for pregnancy is a good idea but, find it difficult to do. Giving up alcohol for the sake of your baby, for example is much easier once you know the baby is there.

Even if these are your feelings, read through, you may not follow all the advice, but there may still be one or two you may want to take before you try for a baby.

Stopping contraception

If you are taking the contraceptive pills, it is probably best to stop about three months before you try to conceive. A condom, spermicidal gel, a cap or sheath can be used instead of pills .the reason why many doctors suggest leaving a gap between stopping the pills and starting a baby is because the pill alters the amounts of certain substance in the blood. A gap allows you to get back to normal before you become  pregnant.Also,if your monthly circle is back to normal before you conceive, then you can be very sure of you baby’s due date ,when you get pregnant.

If you use a coil, then it has to be taken out at the end of a period. Then there is no need to wait before you try to conceive.

Rubella (German measles)

If you catch rubella while you are pregnant, your baby can be severely damaged, especially if it is during the first 3months of pregnancy.

Rubella can damage the baby’s heart and nervous system and cause deafness and blindness. It can also be the cause of miscarriage and stillbirth.

What to do: make sure you are immune to rubella before you get pregnant. Most girls are now routinely vaccinated against rubella while they are at school, so it may be that you have already been vaccinated. You are also likely to be immune if you have had it before, but it is safe to take a blood test to be completely sure.

If you become pregnant before you are immunized, and then come into contact with someone who has it, do tell your doctor at once, he would tell you what next to do.

Stopping Smoking

Besides the harm that smoking does to your own health, it is known beyond any doubt that the smoking can hurt the developing baby.

Some people dispute this. Their own experience or that of others makes them doubt whether there is really any harm in smoking. The truth remains that smoking does harm the baby.

What to do: deciding to give up smoking, even for the sake of your baby isn’t always easy. Many women have to weigh up what for them are real advantages of smoking against what they know to be the dangers, and they find that the advantages can weigh heavily in the balance.

It will help you a lot if you can decide to stop with your partner, or with someone else who smokes. And even if your friends and family don’t smoke you will need their help and support.

Once you have decided to stop, you are half way there, now fix a date, and stick to it. So how do you do it?well,just throw out the cigarettes,lighters,matches,ashtrays and anything that reminds you or draw your attention to smoking and just STOP .

Find something to do with your hands, to replace holding a cigarette—knit, sew, doodle.

You can also find other ways of relaxing, like some deep breathing, a long bath, or go for a walk

Whenever you want a cigarette, do something, no matter what: eat an apple, sing, and drink water, anything but smoking.

But never sit still and think about how much you want to smoke

Get through one day and then another, eventually it begins to get easier and you begin to enjoy the advantages of not smoking-feeling healthier, having more money and so on.

Stopping alcohol

Just like smoking, drinking during pregnancy can affect the development of the baby, especially during the early weeks. Even when you drink moderately or a little, the alcohol that enters the blood stream passes into your baby’s bloodstream.

What to do: remember that, from conception onwards, the less you drink, the better your chances of a successful pregnancy and a healthy baby. It is true that if you limit yourself to just an occasional drink (not more than 1 or 2 units a week, the risk to your baby will be small. But it is safer to cut off alcohol completely.

Inherited abnormality

Just as characteristics like hair and eye colors passes on from generations to generation  through the genes ,so also are certain abnormalities (in those who have them)can be genetically inherited. If either you or your partner have some sort of inherited conditions (such as sickle cell disease,haemophilia  or cystic fibrosis, muscle dystrophy)or  have a relative with such a condition, then you may want to know ,what sort of risk, if any, you would be taking by having a baby. Let your doctor know everything, this is not the time to hide anything. Your doctor might refer you to a genetic councellor,who can tell you much more about the sort of risk you would be taken.

AIDS

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.

If  you have this virus ,becoming pregnant can be dangerous for both you and the baby.

What to do: take a blood test to be sure of your status, and then your doctor will tell you what the risk are.

Although, there had been many reports of infected mothers having healthy babies, but it all starts before conception.

Other infections

It is really advisable to see your doctor for a general body checkup, before conception. Every sexually transmitted diseases, must be treated and other like candida, thrush and the lots should also be treated completely so as not to affect the baby.

What you eat

If you are already eating a healthy diet at the timer you conceive, you will be increasing your baby’s chances of being healthy at birth. Your developing baby depends solely on you for all its food the moment he is conceived, so if the mother’s diet is healthy, the baby is more likely to be healthy.

Also ask your doctors for good vitamins you can take while preparing for conception. For example, folic acid, is good taken, three months before conception and continued while pregnant, as prescribed by your doctor.