So, you are thinking about starting a family – pretty exciting and scary at the same time!
Simple things can make a profound difference to how easy (or difficult) it is to fall pregnant, have a trouble-free pregnancy and a healthy baby. Here are the basics to get you started.
Fresh and unprocessed food
Healthy, nutritious, ‘alive’ foods will help prepare your body for easier conception (men and women), healthy pregnancy and a stronger baby. Good nutrition literally provides the building blocks for a healthy baby and the process starts at least 4 months before conception actually occurs!
Aim for a diet full of fresh, organic, locally sourced fruit and vegetables, simple legumes and nuts and seeds. Take care to read the labels of processed, packaged and pre-prepared foods – many chemicals are either harmful, or the effects on fertility are not known, so why take the chance?
Low glycaemic index (GI) foods
Low GI foods help stabilise blood sugar levels, reduce cravings and ward off bingeing from feeling exhausted. Avoid sugar (table sugar, fruit juice, alcohol, soft drinks, lollies and ‘white foods’) as they not only usually provide little nutritional value, but they also rob the body of nutrients. A low GI diet may also reduce the risk of gestational diabetes.
Avoid excess saturated fats
These are found in processed foods, meat and full-fat dairy.
Be picky with your fish
Large fish tend to accumulate more toxins, including heavy metals like mercury, which can be damaging to developing nervous systems.
Clean it up
What are the sources of toxins in your home, water and work? What is the air quality like, what chemicals do you use in cleaning and most importantly – do you wash your fruit and vegetables and filter your water? Toxins come in many different forms and all are potentially harmful. One specific way they are an issue is that they can be ‘hormone disruptors’. That is, they can contribute to disturbed hormone function in males and females and therefore contribute to fertility issues. Avoid chemicals, paints, solvents, eye-watering oven cleaners etc. Now is not the time to fumigate your house or get involved in crop-dusting.
Don’t forget protein at every meal
Protein is required to build new cells and repair damaged ones and we need protein throughout the day. Protein is found in fish, chicken, meat, eggs, legumes and grains.
Get moving
Aim to exercise for at least 3 hours a week – enough to know you are exercising but not enough to require a week to recover! Exercising improves glucose and fat use by the body, helps maintain a healthy weight, can be a great stress release and even enjoyable; as such, it is important as part of the preconception plan.
Supplementation
The evidence is overwhelming – using a specific preconception/pregnancy supplement helps towards achieving a health pregnancy and baby. The supplement should have good levels of:
• Anti-oxidants: vitamins A, C, E, selenium and zinc to help prevent and repair any toxic damage and improve the sperm count
• Omega 3 fatty acids for healthy cell development and brain function
• Calcium and vitamin D for bones and muscles and nerve function
• Iron to aid brain development in children
• Folate/folic acid to prevent neural tube defects and conditions like spina bifida
Drink plenty of water
Depending on your size, up to 2 litres of purified water per day. Try buying a specific glass bottle to use at work, or at home on the kitchen bench as a reminder. Herbal teas can help get your water intake up (check with your herbalist or naturopath beforehand).
It’s time
Time to stop smoking (everything). Use patches, hypnotherapy, support groups, cold turkey – it doesn’t matter how you do it, just do it.
Avoid alcohol
Alcohol can reduce your chances of conceiving and may have lifelong harmful effects on the baby. There is no known safe minimum level, so play safe and avoid it during pregnancy and have minimal during preconception.
Don’t self-medicate
It might be available in the supermarket or healthfood shop, but it may not be appropriate or safe – so always check before taking any medications or supplements. Tell your health practitioners what medications and supplements you are taking. Some medications are damaging to the foetus and some reduce sperm count and motility, so always check and let your doctor know if you are trying to conceive. Avoid the party-drugs
Not too hot
Take care of spas and saunas – getting too hot is not great if you have already conceived and not certainly not great for sperm
Get charting
Get to know your cycle, when you are most fertile and enhances your chances.
Unwind
So much to consider and do, so take a break. Slumber in a hammock enjoying the fresh garden fragrances (if you’re so lucky!) Have some fun. Have sex for the heck of it, not on a mission to conceive. Remember your partner for the reasons you fell in love with them, not as a potential sperm donor or mother of your child. Meditate, find a yoga class, get a hobby, see a movie. Ensure you get enough good quality sleep – don’t watch TV in bed, or even have a TV in the bedroom. If you are finding things very stressful, seek support from a friend or counsellor. Check you expectations and attitudes, making sure that they are helping you, not being destructive and unhelpful.
This is a suspenseful, intense and creative time and you are taking constructive steps to maximise your health and well-being; caring for yourself and your partners…enjoy it!
Hammock: http://tassels.tumblr.com/archive[/ Baby: https://www.pexels.com/photo/adorable-baby-blur-child-428388/
