Plans to have a baby
Planning for Pregnancy | Preconception Care
If you are trying to have a baby or are just thinking about it, it is not too early to start getting ready for pregnancy. Preconception health and health care focus on things you can do before and between pregnancies to increase the chances of having a healthy baby. For some people, getting their bodies ready for pregnancy takes a few months. For other people, it might take longer. Whether this is your first, second, or sixth baby, the following are important steps to help you get ready for the healthiest pregnancy possible.
1. Make a Plan and Take Action
Whether or not you’ve written them down, you’ve probably thought about your goals for having or not having children, and how to achieve those goals. For example, when you didn’t want to have a baby, you used effective birth control methods to achieve your goals. Now that you’re thinking about getting pregnant, it’s really important to take steps to achieve your goal [PDF – 764 KB]—getting pregnant and having a healthy baby!
Preventive health care can help you stay healthier throughout your life.
2. See Your Doctor
Before getting pregnant, talk to your doctor about preconception health care. Your doctor will want to discuss your health history and any medical conditions you currently have that could affect a pregnancy. They may want to discuss any previous pregnancy problems, medicines you currently are taking, vaccinations you might need, and steps you can take before pregnancy to help prevent certain birth defects.
Take a list of talking points so you don’t forget anything. Be sure to talk to your doctor about:
Medical Conditions
If you currently have any medical conditions, be sure they are under control and being treated. Some of these conditions include: sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), diabetes, thyroid disease, high blood pressure, and other chronic diseases.
Lifestyle and Behaviors
Talk with your doctor or another health professional if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use certain drugs; live in a stressful or abusive environment; or work with or live around toxic substances.
Health care professionals can help you with counseling, treatment, and other support services.
Medications
Almost every pregnant person will face a decision about taking medicines before and during pregnancy. Talk to your healthcare providers before starting or stopping any medicines. Be sure to discuss the following with your healthcare providers:
- All medicines you take, including prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines, herbal and dietary supplements, and vitamins
- Best ways to keep any health conditions you have under control
- Your personal goals and preferences for the health of you and your baby
Vaccinations (shots)
Some vaccinations are recommended before you become pregnant, during pregnancy, or right after delivery. Having the right vaccinations at the right time can help keep you healthy and help keep your baby from getting very sick or having lifelong health problems.
3. Take 400 Micrograms of Folic Acid Every Day
Folic acid is a B vitamin.
CDC urges all people who can become pregnant to take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid each day, in addition to consuming food with folate from a varied diet, to help prevent some major birth defects of the baby’s brain (anencephaly) and spine (spina bifida).
Learn more about folic acid »
4. Stop Drinking Alcohol, Smoking, and Using Certain Drugs
Smoking, drinking alcohol, and using certain drugs can cause many problems during pregnancy, such as premature birth, birth defects, and infant death.
If you are trying to get pregnant and cannot stop drinking, smoking, or using drugs, contact your healthcare provider, local Alcoholics Anonymous, or local alcohol treatment center.
Alcohol and Drug Resources
Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a treatment facility locator. This locator helps people find drug and alcohol treatment programs in their area.
Alcoholics Anonymous (A.
A.)
Alcoholics Anonymous® is a fellowship of men and women who share their experiences, strengths, and hopes with each other so that they can solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. Locate an A.A. program near you.
Learn more about alcohol and pregnancy »
Smoking Resources
1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)
Learn more about smoking during pregnancy »
5. Avoid Toxic Substances and Environmental Contaminants
Avoid harmful chemicals, environmental contaminants, and other toxic substances such as synthetic chemicals, metals, fertilizer, bug spray, and cat or rodent feces around the home and in the workplace. These substances can hurt the reproductive systems of men and women. They can make it more difficult to get pregnant. Exposure to even small amounts during pregnancy, infancy, childhood, or puberty can lead to diseases. Learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones from toxic substances at work and at home.
Learn about the effects of toxic substances on reproductive health »
Learn how CDC tracks Children’s Environmental Health »
6.
Reach and Maintain a Healthy WeightPeople who are overweight or obese have a higher risk for many serious conditions, including complications during pregnancy, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon).1 People who are underweight are also at risk for serious health problems.2
The key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight isn’t about short-term dietary changes. It’s about a lifestyle that includes healthy eating and regular physical activity.
If you are underweight, overweight, or obese, talk with your doctor about ways to reach and maintain a healthy weight before you get pregnant.
Learn more about healthy weight »
7. Learn Your Family History
Collecting your family’s health history can be important for your child’s health. You might not realize that your sister’s heart defect or your cousin’s sickle cell disease could affect your child, but sharing this family history information with your doctor can be important.
Other reasons people go for genetic counseling include having had several miscarriages, infant deaths, trouble getting pregnant (infertility), or a genetic condition or birth defect that occurred during a previous pregnancy.
Learn more about family history »
Learn more about genetic counseling »
8. Get Mentally Healthy
Mental health is how we think, feel, and act as we cope with life. To be at your best, you need to feel good about your life and value yourself. Everyone feels worried, anxious, sad, or stressed sometimes. However, if these feelings do not go away and they interfere with your daily life, get help. Talk with your doctor or another health professional about your feelings and treatment options.
Learn about mental health »
Learn about depression »
References
- NIH, NHLBI Obesity Education Initiative. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. Available online:
http://www.
nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/ob_gdlns.pdf (PDF-1.25Mb) - Moos, Merry-K, et al. Healthier women, healthier reproductive outcomes: recommendations for the routine care of all women of reproductive age. AJOG Volume 199, Issue 6, Supplement B , Pages S280-S289, December 2008.
Planning for your pregnancy | Pregnancy Birth and Baby
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If you are thinking about pregnancy, visit your doctor for a preconception consult. They will provide you with expert advice on planning your pregnancy.
The preconception period (3 to 6 months prior to pregnancy) is the time to make life changes that can help boost fertility, reduce problems during pregnancy and assist in recovery from birth.
Folic acid
If you and your partner are planning to conceive, you should start taking a folic and iodine supplement before you get pregnant. Folic acid helps to provide the best health outcomes for your baby when they are growing. Taking folic acid daily before and during pregnancy also prevents the occurrence of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in your baby. Iodine is important for the baby’s brain development.
You can buy a supplement at most pharmacies. Check it contains at least 500 micrograms (mcg) of folate and 150mcg of iodine.
For more information see folate and pregnancy.
Watching what you eat
If you and your partner are preparing for pregnancy, you should look at your diet and see where you may be able to make healthier food choices. Eating a well-balanced diet including plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables will help with your chances of conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy.
Learn more about preconception health for women and men.
Alcohol
There is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy; therefore, for women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, not drinking is the safest option. Alcohol can affect the health and development of an unborn baby for life.
Smoking
Quitting smoking before pregnancy is the single most effective means of protecting your baby and yourself from the development of serious complications during pregnancy. By quitting smoking you are more likely to conceive naturally and without delay, less likely to suffer a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy and less likely to deliver your baby prematurely.
Pre-pregnancy check up
It is a good idea to have a chat with your doctor if you are planning to become pregnant. There may be some investigations to consider doing as well as discussing your general health and family history. This can also include considering vaccinations, pre-pregnancy health checks such as cervical screening, STI screening and dental checks, and discussing lifestyle changes.
There is also an option of considering genetic carrier screening for some genetic conditions you may be at risk of passing on to your baby that you were not aware of. Discuss this with your doctor.
The best time to get pregnant
The woman's monthly cycle
Ovulation occurs each month when an egg is released from one of the ovaries.
Occasionally, more than one egg is released, usually within 24 hours of the first egg. At the same time, the lining of the womb begins to thicken and the mucus in the cervix becomes thinner so that sperm can swim through it more easily.
The egg begins to travel slowly down the fallopian tube. If a man and a woman have recently had sex, the egg may be fertilised here by the man's sperm.
The lining of the womb is now thick enough for the egg to be implanted in it after it has been fertilised.
If the egg is not fertilised, it passes out of the body during the woman's monthly period, along with the lining of the womb, which is also shed.
The egg is so small that it cannot be seen.
Falling pregnant
You're most likely to get pregnant if you have sex within a day or so of ovulation (releasing an egg from the ovary). Ovulation occurs 14 days before the first day of your next period (not after). The average cycle takes 28 days, but shorter or longer cycles are normal. So a women with a 28 day cycle will ovulate on day 14 but a women with a 30 day cycle will ovulate day 16.
An egg lives for about 12 to 24 hours after it's released. For pregnancy to happen, the egg must be fertilised by a sperm within this time. If you want to get pregnant, having sex every couple of days will mean there's always sperm waiting in the fallopian tubes to meet the egg when it's released.
Sperm can live for about 5 days inside a woman’s body. So if you’ve had sex in the days before ovulation, the sperm will have had time to travel up the fallopian tubes to ‘wait’ for the egg to be released. It’s difficult to know exactly when ovulation happens, unless you are practising natural family planning, or fertility awareness.
You can find out more about timing sex and calculate your ovulation on the Your Fertility website.
Sources:
Department of Health (Smoking and tobacco and pregnancy), NSW Health (Thinking of having a baby), Family Planning NSW (Pre-pregnancy planning), Your Fertility (Your Fertility right time for sex, ovulation calculator), RANZCOG (Planning for pregnancy)Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.
Last reviewed: July 2020
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How to prepare for conception?
Pregnancy planning is really necessary, especially in our time, when a healthy woman is the exception rather than the rule. Not to mention the fact that pregnancy is a serious test for the body of even a perfectly healthy woman.
It can be said that entering into a pregnancy without prior preparation for it is the same as flying on an airplane that has not been checked in advance: maybe it will cost, or maybe not. Of course, aircraft are tested before each flight. So why does a woman, ready to give birth to a new human being, not always conduct a similar check of her body? After all, the price of her neglect of herself and her health can be the life of the unborn child.
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The process of preparing for pregnancy is quite complex and includes several stages. It is worth starting planning a few months (at least three) before the time when the couple intends to conceive a baby.
And at the stage of pregnancy planning , it is necessary to understand that the bearing and birth of a baby is not a woman's business, but a married couple's. Therefore, the active participation of the father in planning pregnancy is extremely necessary and important for himself, and for his wife, and for the unborn baby. nine0005
Without the help of doctors, it will not be possible to manage even at this stage. A visit to the gynecologist will allow you to identify possible diseases and treat them in a timely manner. After the first appeal, future parents undergo several examinations and pass certain tests in order to find out how ready their bodies are for conceiving a baby, as well as to prevent possible problems when carrying a child. The gynecologist will tell you what to do if, before planning a pregnancy, a woman was protected with hormonal contraceptives.
It is necessary to stop taking hormonal contraceptives 3 months before the planned pregnancy. nine0005
It is important for a future mother to understand that only a healthy woman can bear and give birth to a healthy baby. In this regard, you need to start taking care of your own health long before conception. Good physical shape, the absence of diseases, proper nutrition and the rejection of bad habits, hygiene and a measured lifestyle - all this has a beneficial effect on the female body and subsequently makes it easier to endure pregnancy. However, not all vitamins can be obtained from food. For example, the body can only obtain folic acid in an artificial form, since its counterpart (folate), found in green vegetables, beans, asparagus, and citrus fruits, is much less absorbed. Folic acid is very important for the development of the baby to take place correctly, and the need for its intake exists throughout pregnancy. If the mother's body during the bearing of the child receives a sufficient amount of this substance, then the risk of pathology from the nervous system is minimized.
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What tests should a married couple undergo
before planning a pregnancy?
- Gynecological examination, colposcopy for women.
- Blood type, Rh factor for both spouses. If a woman has a positive Rh factor, there is no problem. If a woman has a negative Rh factor - antibodies to the Rh factor (even if a man is also negative). If they are positive, pregnancy is not currently possible and needs to be corrected. If negative - repeat this analysis once a month, starting from 8 weeks of pregnancy. If a woman has 1 group, and a man has any other group, incompatibility by blood types is possible. An analysis for group antibodies, as well as an analysis for antibodies to the Rh factor, is carried out once a month, starting from 8 weeks of pregnancy. nine0028
- Tests for infections: routine smear, PCR for latent infections - both spouses.
- Blood test for TORCH-complex. Antibodies to rubella, toxoplasma, herpes, CMV, chlamydia - quantitative analysis (with titer).
The presence of IgG antibodies means immunity to these infections, and is not an obstacle to pregnancy. The presence of IgM means an acute stage, planning in this case must be postponed until recovery. If there are no IgG antibodies to rubella, it is necessary to be vaccinated and protected for another 3 months after it. nine0028 - A trip to the dentist, a therapist, chest x-ray is a must for both spouses. By appointment of the therapist - consultation of narrow specialists (ENT doctor, urologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist).
- Spermogram. Desirable, but not required. It is done to determine the quality of spermatozoa and identify a hidden inflammatory process (a much more informative analysis than any smears and PCR). nine0027 Ultrasound of the pelvic organs - at least 2 times per cycle: after menstruation and before menstruation. For the first time, the general condition of the pelvic organs is assessed, in the second, the presence of a corpus luteum and endometrial transformation, indicating that ovulation has occurred.
- Blood test for hormones of the reproductive system, thyroid gland, adrenal glands - according to indications. nine0027 Ultrasound of the thyroid gland, mammary glands - according to indications.
- Hemostasiogram, coagulogram. - according to indications.
- General clinical blood test (hemoglobin, erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets, ESR, color index, leukocyte formula). Finger blood. General urinalysis (morning portion of urine - completely collected, it is important that the analysis does not include discharge from neighboring organs).
- Blood tests for syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B and C - for both spouses. nine0028
- If there was a case of hereditary diseases in the family, miscarriages, spontaneous miscarriages, seek advice from a medical genetic consultation (Krasnoyarsk Regional Consultative and Diagnostic Center for Medical Genetics, Krasnoyarsk, Molokova St.
7, t. 55-99-20).
Ideally, an intermediate third ultrasound on the eve of the expected ovulation is to detect the dominant follicle. Pregnancy planning tips: what to look out for and how to prepare
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nine0026 According to World Health Organization, there are about 48 million couples who cannot have children. Because of this huge problem, many couples Start planning ahead of time. In preparing for this stage, it is important to know not only about the usual advice, but also about various innovative tools, with which can lead to pregnancy.
Planning children and proper preparation for pregnancy can be known to couples, dreaming of children.
It should also be remembered that daily habits of both men and women. According to experts, planning pregnancy should be a stage of responsible preparation and it is important to think about it in advance. nine0005
5 important milestones preparation:
1. Planning children, it is important for both parents to get rid of bad habits in advance - smoking (not only active, but also passive), alcohol consumption, reduce caffeine intake, as well as more attention to nutritious nutrition, especially during pregnancy.
2. Pregnant women are encouraged to devote time to physical activity, but if you have not previously trained intensively, it is better not to overdo it. Before as become pregnant, women should pay attention to their body weight, often it is difficult for women who are too thin to get pregnant because ovulation may not happen during the cycle. The recommended body mass index is 20-25. nine0005
3. Women it is recommended to start taking folic acid vitamins before conception.
Important daily intake of 400-800 mg of folic acid, it is recommended to start taking three months before pregnancy and do this until 12-13 weeks of pregnancy.
4. Before trying to conceive a child, it is recommended to consult a doctor about stopping contraception. Different methods of contraception require different transitional periods when you can again conceive a child. nine0005
5. Param, If you are planning a pregnancy, it is also very important to take care of yourself. Recommended avoid trying to get pregnant in acute diseases, in chronic diseases, it is best to try to get pregnant during remission. Front pregnant women are advised to visit doctors, it is useful to consult with gynecologist, visit the dentist, check your health.
Measures in at home, helping to understand the fertility of women and men
Often couples, not those who have the opportunity to have children face low fertility rates spermatozoa. Rapid diagnostic tests can also help determine this problem.
Men are often uncomfortable going to the doctor due to problems of an intimate nature, but a man can do a sperm test at home conditions. This quick test
shows normal whether your fertility. Normal sperm activity is associated with more high chance of getting pregnant. nine0005
To to become pregnant, it is important to know when ovulation occurs. For this you can use tests to determine ovulation. Diagnostic test for ovulation detection detects an increase in the level of luteinizing hormone LH in urine. This hormone is always present in a woman's body, but in 24–36 hours before ovulation, its sharp increase begins, indicating optimal days fertility. At the time when the test is positive, it can be assumed that hormone levels have peaked and this is the most favorable time for pregnancy. nine0005
Good calendar cycles can also help you calculate your fertile days using various mobile applications available today (for example, Clue - Period and Cycle Tracker, Flo My Health and Period Tracker, Glow Period, Fertility Tracker etc.
) Cycle Calendar, so it's a good idea to try a few options and find the one that suits you.
If within year you did not manage to get pregnant, but you regularly have sex and do not use contraceptives, it is recommended to consult with specialist. nine0005
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