Whether you are considering having a baby or are trying to conceive, you need to be fully prepared for this life-changing journey. Since pregnancy brings many changes to your body, so you need to have deep learning and planning about it. By focusing on preconception health, you can learn about the essential steps which you can take before and during pregnancy to raise the likelihood of having a healthy child. A person’s body takes some time to accept the occurring changes; hence a few women’s bodies require some months to get prepared for conception. While in the case of some other women this duration maybe even longer.
This article is an important guide to help you get prepared before pregnancy so that you can have a healthy pregnancy.
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GUIDE TO PREPARE BEFORE PREGNANCY
Below is an important guide to prepare before pregnancy:-
1. MAKE A VISIT TO YOUR DOCTOR
It is essential to visit your doctor to learn about maintaining preconception health care before the start of pregnancy. You may be healthy and prepared to conceive but still, there is a need to see your doctor so that she may better guide you about starting a healthy pregnancy. The doctor will talk to you about your present health status, your health history as well as any sort of medical problems you are currently facing, which can have an impact on your pregnancy. You may be currently taking any medications or maybe having any previous pregnancy issues, all these matters need to be discussed at this time.
2. TAKE A WELL-BALANCED DIET
A well-balanced diet is essential for all individuals at every time in life. Before and during pregnancy, the importance of a healthy diet is doubled. It is recommended to consume protein-rich foods, avoid calories, caffeine, and synthetic sweeteners, and increase the intake of vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and grains. A modest intake of fish will be good for your own health as well as the health of your baby.
3. CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE BEHAVIOURS
Avoid smoking, taking alcohol, or the use of any sort of drugs. These substances cause difficulties in getting pregnant. Moreover, they also raise the risks of miscarriage. Alcohol even if taken in small quantity can harm the fetus. Smoking increases the risks of health problems in the baby. It also causes difficulty in recovering from pregnancy. Any sort of drugs that are not recommended by a doctor can be harmful to your health, taken at any time in life. Consumption of caffeine should also be reduced when you are striving to conceive.
4. ENSURE DAILY INTAKE OF FOLIC ACID AND VITAMINS
Any vitamin or mineral supplement that contains a minimum of 0.4 mg of Folic acid is essential, especially at this stage. Folic acid helps decrease the chances of birth defects in the child particularly concerning the issues in the baby’s spine and brain. Increased intake of any vitamin, specifically A, D, E, and K can be dangerous. These vitamins if consumed more than the recommended daily intake levels can be a reason for causing birth defects in the child. Prenatal vitamins recommended in normal pregnancy do not have very high amounts of any vitamin.
5. SUSTAIN HEALTHY WEIGHT
Obese or overweight women have increased possibilities of many serious problems. These include heart disease, some cancers, Diabetes Type II and pregnancy complications. Similarly, underweight women also have increased chances of serious health conditions. For sustaining a healthy weight, you need to adopt a lifestyle that includes consumption of a balanced diet and regular exercise. You can also consult your doctor to learn about the ways of attaining and maintaining a normal weight before you conceive. If you have pan to work as a surrogate mother or madre subrogada, you need to have better preparation before signing on the surrogacy agreement for pregnancy.
6. TAKE EXERCISE DAILY
Taking exercise before the start of pregnancy can assist your body in accepting and dealing with all the changes that you will experience throughout pregnancy and labor. This step will be easy for those women who already take regular exercise. However, those women who do not exercise regularly should now start taking a 30-minutes exercise for 5 days a week. This plan should be followed both before and during pregnancy. Consult with your doctor about how much and which type of exercise is fine for you.
CONCLUSION
In short, it can be said that pregnancy is an important stage in the life of a woman. It is a huge life-changing event. Hence it requires special care and know-how about the matter. Even a small mistake can result in long-term problems and defects; therefore, it’s essential to know about the steps which should be taken before and during pregnancy to ensure a healthy pregnancy. The above-mentioned article would be essential for those women who are planning to conceive.