Pre-Pregnancy Care - What Should You Do?

If you thought that taking care of yourself and your body becomes a priority only when you are pregnant, then you cannot be more mistaken. Any good doctor will reveal that the state of your health and body before your pregnancy and conception will have a direct bearing on the quality of your pregnancy, delivery and post partum period. So let us find out more about pre pregnancy or pre conception care.

1. Visiting a medical practitioner: When you decide to have a baby and before you start trying to conceive, it would be a good idea to visit your doctor or a medical practitioner who will help you in detecting any ailments or conditions that you may not be aware of. You must also carry out this visit in case you are already suffering from any long term ailments like diabetes, kidney disease, lupus, HIV, AIDS or even cardiovascular diseases. This can help in finding out how healthy your baby will be and whether or not you can go through the pregnancy in as normal a way as possible. Also, if you are over the age of 35 years, you will need to find out if all is well with tests for STDs as well as a Pap Smear Test.
2. Family history: It would also be a good idea to be armed with knowledge of any genetic history of ailments and other conditions so as to find out the risk of conceiving a baby who will be born with the same kind of defects or conditions.
3. Food intake: You will need to check your food intake before you conceive as this can have a large bearing on your pregnancy. Ensure that you have a balanced diet with proteins and carbohydrates as well as all the vitamins and minerals in plenty. This will help in ensuring that your weight and immunity system are both in stellar condition when you conceive, as both will go down to some extent once you conceive. So if they are already in a good condition, you will fortified in a good way.
4. Supplements: One must try and get all the vitamins and minerals from natural substances like fruit and vegetables to a great extent. Yet, if you have had a history of ailments and infections, then you may want to get a prescription for vitamin supplements so that your body is in a better place to go through a normal pregnancy.
5. Lifestyle changes: One will have to stay away from smoking and excessive alcohol abuse before getting pregnant. Also, you will need to ensure that you exercise regularly for good strength, stamina and pelvic strength.

Getting fit before you get pregnant should be a priority for a smooth sailing pregnancy. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Gynaecologist.