If you are planning a pregnancy, you need to start preparing a few months before conception. For your body to be fully ready for pregnancy, you need to be in good physical and mental shape. You won't get it overnight. We advise on what tests to perform and how to take care of your he alth before pregnancy.
A few months before the so-called at zero hour, which is before conception, talk to your gynecologist about the plannedpregnancy . He will tell you what to do next. He will be your best friend in the near future. Even if you feel that you are perfectly he althy, follow the advice of a specialist and doteststo see if your body is really ready for pregnancy.
Six months before the planned pregnancy - tests, diet, sport
- Domorphology- if you have iron deficiency or anemia, pregnancy will make it worse. You will avoid problems when your doctor prescribes a preparation rich in iron.
- Mark your blood group and the so-called Rh factor (such a test should also be performed by a future father). If you are Rh negative and your baby's father is positive your obstetrician should know. In some situations, to avoid serological conflict, the mother is given an immunoglobulin injection up to 72 hours after delivery (and always after a miscarriage). Your doctor will tell you if this is necessary in your case.
- The level of thyroid hormones will also be determined quite well - their deficiency may cause infertility or miscarriage, and too high a level - cause premature birth. But there is still time to level up before you get pregnant.
- Have a vaginal cleanliness test, transvaginal ultrasound and cytology. These tests will detect abnormalities within the reproductive organ, including erosions, inflammations that may cause miscarriages and complications in pregnancy. They absolutely need to be cured.
- If you suspect that you may have had any contact with HIV (eg through blood transfusions, sexual contact) - do a test for HIV antibodies. If it turns out that you are a carrier, for the safety of your baby the doctor must know about it in order to properly manage the pregnancy and delivery.
- Get vaccinated against hepatitis B - if you haven't done it yet. 3 doses of the vaccine are needed to acquire immunity.the second is taken a month after the first, and the third - 5 months after the second. Hepatitis B is also known as implantable jaundice, which can be caught even with simple medical procedures. It can cause miscarriages.
- Heal the teeth - during pregnancy, for example, root canal treatment should not be used. The agents used for poisoning enter the mother's bloodstream and reach the baby. They can harm him.
- Change your diet rich in vegetables and fruits - they will provide you with enough vitamins and minerals. You will also need calcium (it is necessary for the formation of the child's bone tissue; a lot of it contains, among others, fish, milk and its products, nuts, legumes) and protein (the building blocks of cells and tissues of a developing organism; in meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts). Limit the consumption of animal fats and sugar.
- Take care of your condition - intense walks in the fresh air, jogging, swimming, aerobics, cycling, morning exercises will strengthen your muscles. And this will come in handy during pregnancy (you will experience less back pain), childbirth (it may be shorter) and when you are a mother and start carrying your baby.
Gestation lasts about 38 weeks. However, it is not always possible to precisely determine the moment of fertilization. Therefore, it admitted to appointing the due date by adding 7 days and another 9 months to the date of the first day of the last menstruation. Example: your last period started on January 20, 2005, add 7 days to this date - this is January 27, and 9 more months - that's October 27, 2005. But this is only the probable date of delivery, because only 4 percent. babies are born on time. Women who have cycles longer than 28 days will generally give birth late and those with shorter cycles earlier.
Three months before the planned pregnancy - vaccinations, medications, tests
- If you have not had rubella and have not been vaccinated before, you must get vaccinated - if you get sick during pregnancy, your baby is at risk of developing malformations. Consult with your doctor if a triple vaccine would be preferable: against rubella, mumps and measles, which must be taken at least 3 months before conception. If you get vaccinated only against rubella, you will get immunity after a month.
- Quit smoking - babies of smokers are born weaker, smaller and get sick much more often. Make your partner quit the addiction. Nicotine has a negative effect on fertility: it reduces sperm motility and may even cause erectile dysfunction.
- Stop taking hormone pills, then fertility will return to its natural state. If you hadinserted IUD (so-called helix), after removing it, wait one cycle before trying for a baby.
- Minimize the use of over-the-counter medications, even painkillers or cold medications.
- If you suffer from a chronic disease, e.g. diabetes, asthma, hyperthyroidism, consult your doctor about the doses of medications you are constantly taking.
- Start taking folic acid, i.e. vitamin B9 (especially if you have been using hormonal contraceptive pills for a long time, which slightly weaken the absorption of this acid). Studies have shown that taking 0.4 mg of vitamin B9 daily for three months before pregnancy reduces the risk of a baby having serious malformations.
- Test your blood sugar. During pregnancy, the so-called gestational diabetes, this test will be useful for the doctor for comparison.
- Perform a urine test. If, for example, bacteria are present, it is time for treatment. Bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections spread easily into a woman's genital tract and can cause inflammation.
- Make a WR test to detect syphilis. If left untreated, it may cause a miscarriage or birth defects in the baby.
- Start checking your blood pressure systematically. In some women it increases significantly in pregnancy and can complicate the course of pregnancy. Hypertension is one of the factors of pregnancy poisoning, the so-called gestozy.
- Don't drink alcohol. You can afford no more than a glass of red wine from time to time. If the mother drinks regularly during the first trimester of pregnancy, there is a risk of fetal harm. If in the last - the child is born addicted (the same applies to drugs).
Important for your man
In recent years, the quality of sperm in men has been deteriorating alarmingly. Scientists counted that half a century ago men had about 113 million sperm in 1 cubic mm of sperm, today they have only about 66 million. This reduces the chances of an egg fertilizing it. Therefore, if they want to improve the quality of sperm and increase the chance of the desired offspring, gentlemen should:
- eat he althy,
- play sports (but not necessarily cycling or horse riding),
- give up stimulants - especially smoking,
- go on vacation twice a year,
- fight stress,
- sleep.