Before Pregnancy: Ways to Maximize Your Fertility

The best way to guarantee a quick and problem-free conception is to consider your fertility before you even start trying for a baby. There are a number of steps you can take to get your body in peak baby-making condition.

Get In Shape

Having a healthy body mass index can significantly increase your fertility, and help you have a complication-free pregnancy and healthy newborn. Being overweight can make it harder to become pregnant, and can make delivery more difficult. Consider exercising and making diet changes to lose a portion of the excess weight you’re carrying, before you start trying for a baby.

Being underweight can also make pregnancy difficult and can lead to birth defects. Monitoring your weight is one way to keep your body healthy enough to sustain you and a growing child; many doctors recommend taking 6 months to a year to get your health in shape, before pregnancy.

A balanced diet is another factor that can help you lose weight and boost your overall health. Shoot for a mixture of whole foods, including veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean meats. Developing good food habits before pregnancy will also help you avoid gaining too much weight, once you do become pregnant.

Have a Pre-Conception Doctor’s Visit

Also essential before trying to conceive is to visit your doctor, for a pre-conception consultation. At this visit, your doctor can assess your overall health, and determine what health areas you should focus on improving before pregnancy. They can assess your need for genetic screening, look at your risk for infection, check up on your vaccinations, and advise you on any health issues that are relevant to your fertility.

Reduce Your Exposure to Environmental Toxins

Certain chemicals and other toxins can diminish your fertility or cause birth defects in developing fetuses. These include the obvious ones like smoking, drinking, and doing drugs, but there are also less obvious ones like chemicals in your food or surrounding environs. Mercury (from large fish), lead (from old paint and drinking water), and arsenic (from untreated well-water) are some specific ones to watch out for. Check out a more comprehensive listing here.

Take Your Vitamins

It’s important to get an adequate amount of folic acid, a type of B vitamin, before and during pregnancy. At least 400 mg of folic acid should be taken 1-2 months before pregnancy; once you become pregnant, you should up your intake to at least 600 mg. Folic acid helps prevent neural problems like spina bifida and other debilitating birth defects.

Sources:

Planning for Pregnancy. (2011) Ohio State University.

Give Your Baby A Healthy Start With Preconception Planning. (2010) Beaumont Hospitals.

Folic Acid. (2010) March of Dimes.

Environmental Risks and Pregnancy. (2010) March of Dimes.