Trying to Conceive and Preconception Health

When it comes to preparing your body for a baby, think of your body as a temple.

Positive changes, no matter how small, are always a step in the right direction for your own mental & physical health. It is never too late to benefit from the changes listed below. You never know when you might be surprised with an unexpected little one!

6 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU GET PREGNANT

1. Controlling your weight/BMI

• Exercise!

  • Performing weeks 4-24 of the guide prior to pregnancy to build up your strength

    • Primary areas of focus should be strengthening the core, deep hip muscles, upper back (before pregnancy)

      • It would be ideal to get headaches, upper back tension, low back pain, sciatica, sacroiliac (SI) dysfunction, pubic symphysis, urinary leakage (incontinence), calf cramps under control BEFORE pregnancy. Pregnancy can be hard enough even in the best of circumstances, this is the perfect time to really get your health in order!

      • Improve your eating habits. The book “Cleansing for Conception” by Donielle Baker discusses traditional diets and how their implementation may increase the odds of conception.

Note: If you are going to do a detox diet, it is advisable to do this at least 3 months BEFORE you start trying for your little one

2. Get plenty of sleep. 

3. Start taking prenatal vitamins. Taking prenatal vitamins with folic acid if you are sexually active. At least a year prior to getting pregnant.

4. Drink 3 quarts of water a day. And continue this habit throughout your pregnancy.

5. Simplify life/reduce unnecessary stress. Stress is a silent killer, so the more of it we can eliminate, the better. Although some stress can’t be avoided, more often than not we allow a lot of extra stress. Saying yes to too many things or worrying about things we don’t have control over anyway are great examples of opportunities to simplify. I’ve also found essential oils to be a huge help in calming my body (you can read more about them here).

6. Decrease your exposure to harmful toxins such as BPA and phthalates (link)

We also think it is pertinent to remember that your egg matures 3-4 months before fertilizing. We want our bodies to be able to develop healthy eggs, this is the first hey to successful conception. For women with infertility, the focus is often on just “getting pregnant”. This can be slightly misguided, as the goal is not only getting pregnant, but also staying pregnant!

A traditional way of thinking is that women are “born with all the eggs they will ever have” and that the quality of those eggs inevitably declines with age. However, this is not the entire picture. For much of our lives, our eggs are suspended in our bodies as immature cells. That means that three to four months before ovulation, an egg must undergo a major transformation. It grows dramatically in size and starts producing much more energy. The egg must then execute a precise process of separating and ejecting copies of chromosomes. 

If this process goes wrong (and it often does), the egg will have chromosomal abnormalities. This is the single most important cause of early miscarriages and failed IVF cycles, as well as the reason it can take older women so much longer to conceive. 

Many women are told that there is little they can do to improve egg quality, but some of the latest research defies that old assumption. 

The growth phase before ovulation is a critical time during which many factors can positively or negatively affect the quality of the egg. Antioxidants and other nutrients can have protective effects but harmful toxins such as BPA and phthalates can have harmful effects. For better and for wrose, there is a brief window of opportunity in which you can make a difference to your egg quality. 

“It Starts with the Egg” is a detailed guide to specific strategies that are supported by strong scientific research.

• Part one of the book explains the basics of egg quality, the importance of avoiding hormone-disrupting chemicals such as BPA and phthalate, and other common obstacles to fertility such as celiac disease and hypothyroidism.

• Part two explains how to choose the right supplements for your specific circumstances, with detailed explanation of which supplements are supported by scientific research and which are best avoided.

• Part three of the book addresses the bigger picture, such as nutrition and factors that impact sperm quality.