How you can prepare for Pregnancy

If you have the luxury of planning for your pregnancy, here are some helpful tips to get ready for pregnancy.

Visit your Doctor or Midwife

It’s a good idea to visit with your Doctor or midwife before you try to get pregnant to discuss relevant medical concerns, your pregnancy plan, and answer any questions you may have. If there is any health concerns, they will be able to help you prepare your body for Pregnancy.

Healthy eating habits

You shouldn’t be on a “diet” per se while you are pregnant, but before, during, and after your pregnancy you should have a healthy, balanced diet. If you are eating a lot of fried or sugary foods, you should start eliminating them out of your regular eating habits as soon as possible. You should focus on eating healthy food, not only fuel for your own body, but nutrients that will help develop a healthy baby too.

Prenatal Vitamins

During your pregnancy it’s crucial to have the right amount of vitamins and minerals in your body so that your baby gets the nutrients he/she needs in order to develop. Ideally, you should take Prenatal vitamins at least 6 weeks before you get pregnant. doing this,  you will be able to build up what your own body may be lacking in vitamins and minerals, and may help prepare your body for your developing baby. Folic acid is one of the many nutrients you will need which is found in Prenatal vitamins, and is  crucial to take – especially in the early stages of pregnancy – to prevent birth defects.

Work out

It’s healthy for you and for your baby to be fit before you get pregnant and to stay fit during your pregnancy. Of course,  you will want to make sure you aren’t doing anything too intense while you are pregnant because you don’t want to compromise your baby’s health. It’s not a bad idea to speak with your Doctor or Midwife about what type of exercise is appropriate for you.

Quit those bad habits!

Before you even try to get pregnant, you should stop smoking and drinking alcohol. You don’t want to wait until you have a confirmation that you are pregnant because in most cases, you don’t know you are pregnant until you are 4 weeks along already. As you may already know, consuming alcohol and smoking are extremely harmful to your baby during pregnancy and even after they are born – ever heard of second-hand smoke? Don’t allow your baby to suffer from something they have no control over.

I know it will be hard to stop drinking alcohol and/or stop smoking…but it will benefit you and your family in the long run, and I promise that you won’t regret it when your healthy baby comes!

Labor and Delivery

It’s always good to start with a plan of how you are going to have your baby delivered. Educated yourself on what to expect, what your choices are, and what’s best for you and your baby. If you are planning to get pregnant, or are already pregnant, I recommend watching a documentary called “The Business of Being Born“. It’s controversial and I love it because it will at least give you the other side of the story when it comes to having a baby. I feel that all soon-to-be Moms should at least know about natural births and the benefit that comes from them.

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