Your Ultimate Pre-Pregnancy Checklist

Exploring Pre-Pregnancy Checklist

Planning for a baby brings a lot of fun and Challenges. But to avoid complications, you should prepare for it. My friend! With just simple life tricks, you can create a strong foundation with a healthy body. So now, if you are ready to make a few lifestyle changes to give your child the best environment, then explore this pre-pregnancy checklist.

This list includes all the essential changes that will definitely help you to maintain a healthy journey.

Preconception Check-up

Before planning for a baby or intercourse, it is always better to undergo your preconception check-ups. These check-ups include a complete examination of your body, reproductive organ analyses, and hormone profiles. My friend, with these detailed examinations, your chances of conception will improve.

If you have any health issue like PCOS or any condition, it can be diagnosed early and treated well. Do you know that 10% of women of childbearing age are facing infertility issues? So, preconception check-ups will remove these chances for you.

Do Regular Exercise

We all are aware of the unlimited benefits of exercise and being active, right? It doesn’t just make us appealing from the outside but also helps to improve our internal body system.

In the same way, the right exercise with appropriate timing also helps to get pregnant early without complications. From the studies, it is proven that a moderate amount of exercise for 30 minutes can improve the chances of pregnancy by up to 10-15%. Such a great number, no? 

So you should maintain a healthy body for your baby. Moreover, you should avoid doing heavy weight lifting exercises as they can turn the results.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Eating healthy food, which includes antioxidants and omega-3 three fatty acids, is very essential for the start of pregnancy. It is because these foods increase the quality of eggs, which enhances the chances of conception. Moreover, you should also avoid eating unhealthy foods. Like junk foods, and stop alcohol consumption as well. You should switch to fresh fruits and vegetables because they are beneficial for you and for your baby.

Take Enough Folic Acid

If you have low minerals or nutrients in your body, then you can face a lot of complications during pregnancy. This also leads to many newborn diseases or defects. 

One most common abnormality in newborns due to low folic acid is neural tube defects. So, if you want your baby to be healthy and active, you should take appropriate pregnancy symptoms supplements. However, don’t forget to use folic acid. Researches show that taking 400-500 micrograms of folic acid can reduce the chances of neural tube defects by 70%.

Track your Ovulation Cycle

As we already know, the maximum chances of conception are during the fertile window. What? Have you listened to this term for the first time? So, here is a brief overview of Fertile Window.

These are the five days before ovulation, the day of ovulation, and the day after. During these days, the chances of pregnancy increase to 35% as compared to normal days. To track your fertile days, you can get help from various ovulation calculators or other tools.

Maintain Healthy Weight

Being overweight brings a lot of health issues in your life. You will be more prone to heart disease, diabetes, and mental issues. With these conditions, your chances of conception will also reduce by 26%. Oh! Don’t want to face this difficulty? 

So make sure you have maintained a healthy body weight. While referring to a healthy weight, some females reduce so many inches that too causes difficulty in pregnancy. It is better to be in between not too fatty and not too thin.

Cut Out Alcohol and Smoking

One of the major reasons for the difficulty in conceiving is the consumption of excessive alcohol and smoking. Nowadays, due to the modern lifestyle, intake of alcohol and smoking has increased at a huge rate. But those who are trying to have a baby should cut out these hazardous products. It is because it affects fertility in both men and women.

Get Your Vaccination Profile

During pregnancy, many women are affected by various viruses or other health conditions. So, it is better to ensure all your vaccinations are up-to-date. 

If you catch any viral infection during pregnancy, then there are huge chances of miscarriage or premature birth. These common viruses include Rubella and chickenpox. To be on the safe side, you should get vaccinated for measles, mumps, Rubella, and chicken pox.

Some of the expert gynecologists suggest that it is better to get all your vaccinations done at least 3 months before planning a baby.

Reduce Stress Level

However, it is a less noticeable thing, but it plays a major role in a healthy pregnancy. Our mental health has a huge impact on our physical health. Moreover, it also affects the levels of hormone production. 

Therefore, you should be happy and stable so that you value yourself and also offer a healthy and stress-free environment to your baby. Studies show that if you do not treat your mental issues before pregnancy, you will have to face many birth complications. These include preterm birth, low birth weight, stillbirth, and an increase in postpartum depression. So, to avoid such issues with physical health, you should also treat your mental health. If needed, you can get help from any psychiatrist or psychologist.

FAQ

Conclusion

However, it is an amazing feeling to be a parent, right? But before holding a little one in your hands, you have to go through a complex process for 9 months. 

During this period, your body undergoes hundreds of changes, like your hormone level changes, your pelvic region changes its shape, your weight increases, and much more. So, when preparing for pregnancy, you should once ask yourself, “Am I ready for pregnancy?” I know it will be difficult to get the answer, but with the pre-pregnancy checklist, the process will be easy for you. By examining every point and marking a tick on it, your journey of conception will become smooth and easy.