Prepare Yourself Now for a Healthy Pregnancy

During a baby's first trimester in the womb all her essential organs are being formed. By the start of the second trimester most if these are functioning. So these early weeks are a crucial time for your child's development.

It therefore stands to reason that if a woman is healthy before she conceives, the tiny fetus has a better chance of being healthy too.

But many women have unplanned pregnancies and can be a couple of months along the line before realising. In a perfect scenario, all women who could conceive, or are planning to conceive, should consider their pre-pregnancy care very carefully with Placenta encapsulation Melbourne . Potential dads play a key role too of course and their health is very important too, but this article will concentrate on the female.

The main things to consider are contraception, poor diet, smoking, drugs, alcohol, pollutants, illness and STDs.

Put quite simply all prospective parents should avoid all of the above.

Start your pregnancy journey by seeing your GP for a pre-pregnancy check-up. Ideally this would be a year before you want to get pregnant to give you time to make any major changes that are recommended. But every little helps, so even a three to six month pre-pregnancy visit is good enough to make some positive changes to your lifestyle and health.

This check-up should involve more than just a physical exam. Your GP should also cover the following:

Your personal and family medical history.

Your vaccination history.

Your usual lifestyle habits (drinking, smoking, drugs, hazards at work).

Diet. You will probably be weighed and advised to lose or gain weight if your BMI is too low or high.

Your typical weekly exercise tally.

Your state of mind; whether you have depression or other mental health issues.

Your medications. These could be changed if your GP knows you are trying to conceive as some medicines can cause birth defects.

Your physical exam could include a blood pressure check, breast exam, and blood tests for cholesterol, glucose (blood sugar), liver function, Rh factor and triglycerides. You may have a pelvic examination too and an STD test may be offered.

Having this thorough examination will highlight any issues that need correcting, or bringing under control before you get pregnant.

The rest of your pre-pregnancy care is in your hands, and mouth! Start eating a healthy diet rich in a variety of nutrients. Reduce the junk food - sugars and fats - in your diet and start eating your Five a Day. If you have a varied, healthy diet that includes all the main food groups you probably won't need supplements. But your GP may suggest you take 400 micrograms of folic acid per day which makes some birth defects much less likely.

If you are concerned your diet is lacking in any one food group, specially formulated pre-pregnancy supplements will ensure you get all the other key vitamins and minerals you need.