Getting pregnant is a decision that is often made; you might be mentally prepared but is your body prepared? Is your body ready to carry a new life? The next step would be to think of how to improve chances of carrying a healthy pregnancy.
Is there need to prepare your body for a baby? Yes, it is very important you prepare your body because you will carry extra weight for some time and you will require more energy and double the blood volume.
The very first and most important thing one should do is to discontinue the use of any birth control method. After discontinuing it might take some time for ovulation to naturally start; some take just a few weeks while others take up to a few months. When you discontinue birth control methods you are on your first step to get pregnant and now it is time to prepare your body for the baby.
Here are some helpful ways which will prepare your body for a baby
1. Eat better
Start by eating a natural fertility diet. Eat food to help in forming your baby as well as fuel your body. Choose healthy whole foods which are organic for the best option diet.
Increase the intake of organic fruits and vegetables, take raw whole fat dairy, take cold water fish, eat meat from free range animals or organic raised animals, every meal should be rich in high fiber foods and drink a lot of clean water. During this time avoid non-fermented soy products, avoid fruit juices and avoid refined sugars.
2. Detoxify
So you might wonder why detoxifying is important. Every day the human body is exposed to toxins from chemicals, food and car exhaust among others. Some of these toxins are removed while others are stored in the fat cells, liver and kidneys. All through the pregnancy period and the breastfeeding period the body uses far stored in the body to sustain the pregnancy and the baby. This means that the toxins go directly to the baby. Avoid foods that are high in harmful toxins then use supportive herbs to cleanse the body of toxins which are stored already: this is known as the fertility cleansing.
3. Exercise moderately
Exercise is used to promote natural detoxification and it strengthens the body ready for labor. When trying to conceive exercise moderately for 30 minutes a day, thrice in a week. Try brisk walking and any other exercise which you are comfortable with.
4. Take prenatal vitamins
They are various nutrients which miss from the diet and during pre-conception there should be an increase in some vital nutrients. Consider taking whole foods for these nutrients because the body easily breaks them down, assimilates them and utilizes the nutrients.
Deficiency in folic acid leads to development defects on the baby. Try to take it in plenty even as a whole food prenatal vitamin. Taking these vitamins does not mean you can forgo healthy eating, no, the vitamins are meant to achieve the nutritional vitamin level required for a pregnancy.
5. Eliminate vices that can harm your body and your baby
Reduce the intake of caffeine and completely do away with smoking cigarettes and taking alcohol. These are just unhealthy habits which do not benefit your body in any way. Caffeine, smoking and alcohol have been found to cause poor stress response, hormonal imbalance and cause delayed ovulation. The earlier you get rid of them the better for your body.
6. Consult a gynecologist
It is very important that you get a full breast and pelvic exam. It is difficult for reproductive health issues to be treated during pregnancy so a full exam will help identify and deal with these issues before conception and ensure a healthy pregnancy.
7. Relax, reduce stress
The pace of life keeps on increasing with each passing day. Create time for you to just relax and reduce the stress levels. Stressors have a negative impact in human life especially the health and elevated stress cause disruption to the endocrine system causing hormonal imbalance. Learn and practice stress management techniques which will be handy during pregnancy for a healthy pregnancy. Some of the ways which you could practice to lower stress are counseling, spending time with friends, prayer, exercise, yoga, meditations and just taking a nature walk.
