PLANNING FOR A HEALTHY BABY

PLANNING FOR A HEALTHY BABY

Planning for a baby is exciting. Nowadays, with smaller families and readily available contraception, more people the ever before choose when to start trying.

                We’re all familiar with prenatal care but Peri-conceptual care helps a woman enter pregnancy more capable of sailing through with no problems. And if both man and woman look after their health before they conceive, then in the early weeks after conception, before most women even know they are pregnant but when the human embryo is particularly vulnerable, they give their baby the best chance of developing safely.

DIET

·         Eating a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables will increase your chances of conceiving,.

·         Try to avoid eating too many foods containing added sugar, refined grains ( for example, white flour, bread, pasta and rice) and saturated or refined fats and oils ( for example, animal fats, margarines and cheap cooking oils ) too often.

·         It’s probably better to have fewer drinks containing caffeine.

·         Make sure food is fresh – stale food generally has fewer vitamins and may contain molds.

·         If as a woman you need to lose weight, do it sensibly and slowly and aim to end your weight loss at least four months before trying to conceive.

IMMUNITY

Keeping fit and healthy helps your body to fight against disease, but two common infections are best avoided if at all possible in pregnancy as they can damage an unborn baby. These are rubella (German measles) and chickenpox. If you haven’t had a rubella immunization, arrange one, but ensure you don’t get
pregnant for three months afterwards.

EXERCISE

If you are fit you’ll be able to cope more easily with your extra weight in pregnancy. Try to exercise at least three times a week for more than twenty minutes at a time.

ALCOHOL

Excess alcohol consumption within three months of conception can damage sperms and eggs as they mature and can also hurt the newly fertilized egg. Ideally, you and your partner should keep alcohol to a minimum for four months before you wish to conceive.

SMOKING

Women smokers are only half as fertile as non-smokers. Smoking makes men lees fertile too: men who smoke between ten and twenty cigarettes a day are twice as likely to have a malformed baby as men who don’t smoke. If you can’t give up, cut down.

THE PILL

Stop taking the contraceptive pill at least three, and preferably six, months before trying to conceive. The pill can alter body levels of certain vitamins and minerals. It can take several months off the pill to right the balance and have the best chance of conceiving.

POLLUTANTS

A number of substances can interfere with conception and pregnancy and it’s sensible to be on the alert as some of them are present in our everyday lives. For example, you and your partner should avoid extra exposure to any form of radiation. Including X-rays. It is also best to avoid excessive exposure to exhaust fumes from traffic, pesticides, household chemicals, paints and contact adhesives.

GET FIT FOR PREGNANCY

·         Eat plenty fresh fruit and vegetables.

·         Take plenty of exercise.

·         Give up smoking.

·         Stop taking the pill at least three months before trying for a baby.

·         Finally, do not take any medicines without your doctor’s approval.