Getting Ready for Pregnancy
OK the time has come and you’ve decided that you would like to have a baby. Before you do, there are many things you should know about getting your body into peak condition and how to prepare yourself emotionally for motherhood.
To have a healthy baby, it is important to have a healthy mother and father; this means both physically and mentally.
For the new mum, pregnancy may be a pleasant experience with emotional highs and lows or it may be quite a difficult time. So how do you prepare yourself?
Physically
- Get yourself as physically fit as possible. If you are overweight see your doctor to discuss a sensible weight loss program.
- Change you eating habits, reduce you fat intake and eat a healthy diet based on fruits and vegetable, legumes, breads and cereals, low fat dairy foods and lean meat.
- Take Folic Acid (folate) – this is thought to help prevent spina bifida, which occurs in the first 6 weeks of life. Ask your doctor for advice on the correct dosage of Folic Acid (folate).
- If you are expecting to become pregnant fairly soon, then stop drinking alcohol. Alcohol can damage a developing foetus and often a new mum is not aware that she is pregnant, so be on the safe side and stick to other drinks.
- Stop smoking.
EmotionallyOnly you can tell whether you are ready to become a parent. Sometimes babies are not planned for but are nevertheless welcomed. Even when you consider yourself ready, becoming pregnant may take a little while.
Most couples that are in good health conceive within six months to a year. For the average couple, it takes three cycles. Consult your doctor if you are experiencing any problems with conceiving.
When you are trying to conceive, anticipate no problems, just enjoy sex and carry on with your life as usual.
