Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

In order to give your baby the best possible start in life and to make sure that your pregnancy is as healthy and easy as it can be, there are some things that you can plan for, do and keep in mind even before you try and conceive:

Schedule a visit to the doctor: Tell the doctor that you are planning to get pregnant. He will tell you the best ways to try and conceive. If you have any deficiencies he may prescribe a supplement, such as iron, calcium etc.

Any health issues that you have will be detected and treated beforehand so that they cause no problems during pregnancy.

If you have been on the pill, the doctor will tell you that getting pregnant may take longer so that you don’t get stressed if at first you don’t succeed in getting pregnant.

The doctor will also prescribe other dos and don’ts and you prepare for this exciting new chapter of your life; parenthood.

Get Healthy: Consciously lower your stress levels, learn relaxation techniques, and mentally free yourself from your problems for better physical health and yes, better fertility too.

Perhaps you could take up yoga, meditation or adopt some breathing methods to feel more in control. Start to eat healthy and start to exercise so that you are already on your way to being as fit as possible during pregnancy.

Step on the Scales: There are too many studies to show that being overweight or underweight before pregnancy can negatively impact mother and child to ignore the findings.

It is therefore essential to get on that weighing scale and realize how much it tips, one way or the other. Maternal obesity raises risk of complications, decreases fertility and even increases the baby’s obesity risk.

There are also other health issues, such as blood pressure, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes to avoid for which it is essential to get to a healthy weight before conceiving. Read up all you can on this topic.

Kick the bad habits: It goes without saying that if you’re a smoker you have to quit now! If you are used to having a couple of drinks, now would be a great time to go teetotal, at least for a year or two. If you are a coffee addict, cut down if you cannot cut it out altogether.

Start the Folic Acid Supplement: This is something that is very important for the early stages of pregnancy as also the time of conception. Folate is routinely prescribed for the first trimester of pregnancy and ideally one should begin taking it before conception.