A Three-Month Guide to Getting Pregnant |
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Page 1 of 2  Your three-month get-ready-to-get-pregnant guide.
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re thinking about having a baby soon. The countdown to pregnancy is officially on. But wait—before things get hot and heavy in the bedroom, check out this get-ready-to-get-pregnant guide to ensure that you’re as healthy as possible before trying to conceive. By the time you work your way through the three months of suggestions, you’ll have a solid sense of what you can do to maximize your health, boost your fertility, and increase your odds of giving birth to a healthy baby. Already started trying? No problem. It’s never too late to make lifestyle changes that will improve your health . . . and your child’s. Three Months Out Check it Out “Preconception care is the most important first step in any pregnancy,” says Ann Weathersby, C.N.M., an Atlanta-area certified nurse-midwife. Since it takes two to do the reproductive tango, you’ll want to schedule a preconception checkup for yourself and your partner. That way, any health or lifestyle issues that might interfere with your ability to conceive or have a healthy pregnancy can be addressed sooner rather than later. Preconception care aims to improve a woman’s general health, because a healthy woman is most likely to have a healthy pregnancy. During this exam, your healthcare provider will want to go over issues such as your family’s health history and your own. “Understanding patients’ gynecological history—such as prior surgery or abnormal Pap smears—and past pregnancy experiences—such as premature labor—can be very important in helping them plan healthy pregnancies,” says John R. Sussman, M.D., an ob-gyn in private practice in Milford, Connecticut, and an assistant clinical professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. At this exam, your provider should also check that your immunizations are up to date. Chicken pox and rubella are the two main ones to concern yourself with now. If you’re not immune to both diseases (through previous vaccines, or from having had the diseases earlier in your life), you should ideally be vaccinated three months (and at least four weeks) before trying to conceive. Both vaccines are live vaccines, so they’re not recommended during pregnancy. Special Advice For Special Cases Women with chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, lupus, or phenylketonuria (PKU) will need to have their conditions carefully managed during pregnancy. Consulting a physician now for advice on lifestyle and treatment will help ease the way. For women with diabetes, the odds of having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby are dramatically increased if they are able to get their blood sugar under control before they become pregnant, says Arlene Cullum, director of regional health programs for the Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, California. “That means balancing eating with exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking any medications that are prescribed by your doctor.” Since one-third of women with diabetes are symptom-free and unaware that they have the disease, a preconception checkup should include a test for the disease if a physician suspects a patient may be at risk. Women who are being treated for depression or anxiety, or those who’ve struggled with mood disorders in the past, should also get special advice. Your doctor might want to switch you to a different medication, change your dose, or come up with an alternate treatment plan once you start trying to conceive. According to Jennifer Wilen, M.P.H., former learning coordinator for the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care in Madison, Wisconsin, now would also be a good time for you to write down all the specific strategies that have worked well for managing your mood disorder in the past. “That way the thinking is already done for you.” Clean Out Your Cabinets If you’re like most people, you don’t think too much about the pain relievers you take for your headaches and menstrual cramps, the antihistamines you pop for colds and allergies, or the various stomach medications that can ease everyday ailments like indigestion, diarrhea or constipation. Your medicine cabinet is probably filled with over-the-counter medications and a variety of herbal health products. Now is the time to start thinking about what’s in there. Some of these everyday products contain ingredients that could affect fertility or harm your baby-to-be. Don’t take chances. Ask your doctor about what’s safe for you and your partner to take once you start trying to conceive. Pick A Date If you’re using barrier methods like condoms and diaphragms, you can continue to use them until the day you start “trying.” But if you’re on the Pill, you might want to switch to another method of contraception now. Even though some women begin ovulating almost immediately after stopping oral contraceptives, for others it may take several months. And there’s no way of knowing what your body’s reaction will be. If you do decide to stop taking the Pill in advance of trying to conceive, make sure you’ve got a back-up method of birth control (such as the barrier methods, above) lined up. If you’ve been using Depo-Provera, normal ovarian function usually returns after a short time, but it may take longer to conceive. You’ll need to allow some extra time for getting pregnant. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Gum disease has been associated with the risk of a preterm delivery, so you want to make sure that you’re in good dental health before getting pregnant. Schedule a preconception dental checkup to take care of any existing conditions and get a good oral cleaning. If you find you need dental treatments, x-rays, or medications, it’s best to take care of that before you start trying to conceive. Job Satisfaction Employers are required to provide employees with details about the types of materials they’re working with on the job. If you’re concerned about anything you’re exposed to at work, talk to your employer, and do some research. Your partner should also do some digging, even though it can be difficult to get some employers to acknowledge that reproductive health issues are important for men, too. “They tend to say things like, ‘Look at Joe over there. He’s got five kids, so the situation can’t be all that bad,’” explains Steven M. Schrader, Ph.D., team leader of the reproductive health assessment team at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). “What these employers fail to understand is that the problem in the workplace just pushed Joe’s coworker Bob—a guy with marginal fertility—into the infertile range.” Two Months Out Vitamins and Veggies Start eating a variety of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables each day, and reduce your intake of fat. Boost your intake of foods that are rich in iron and calcium and—if your health care provider recommends it—consider taking a multivitamin supplement, too. (Just make sure you don’t overdo it with vitamins A or D. Too much of either nutrient can be unhealthy for the baby you hope to conceive.) |
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