Preconception Advice? - Detroit,MI

focus on NOT focusing on it!!!
the stress of wanting it very badly and being impatient plays a huge role.

Best book ever... "Taking Charge of Your Fertility."

Good luck:)

You can start taking daily vitamins now. Make sure you have dental issues addressed now. Being at a healthy weight while you TTC is an advantage too. Good luck!

Exactly what Denise said...prenatal vitamins, start any exercise regimen you want to now, and make sure to be aware after it may be possible you're pregnant to watch your fish/seafood intake and any medications you may want to take (i.e. if you don't know if you're pg don't take ibuprophen for a headache...only tylenol). Good luck!!!

You should also stay away from secondhand smoke (as best you can), eat very, very healthy (look for organic fruits/veggies and free range meats), eat food high in folic acid (poss prevents cleft lip and palate), take vitamins to ensure you're getting all your nutrients. Stay away from junk foods and caffeine. Exercise if you are not exercising now minimally walk (check with doctor about exercise) keep drinking water to stay hydrated, and sleep. Stay away from toxic chemicals - cleaning products in the home. Obviously you clean but wear gloves and open windows. You may ask your doctor for prenatal vitamins preconception but do not know if he'll write a script for you.

go to your familiy doctor and/or ob/gyn for a FULL physical. Make sure you don't have any chronic, low lying illnesses and that you are physically fit. Take your pre-natal vitamins now (Walmart will give them to you free with a prescription) and exercise. Get as much sleep as you can. Cut out the things you can't eat when you are pregnant now - sushi, lots of caffine (sp)

It sounds stupid but drink lots of orange juice and or take vitamen c it can help with birth defects exercise regulary even when pregnant and buy Martha Sears book on Breastfeeding best book that helped me learn to nurse and answered every question I had

Hi KK----My advice is to make sure you are practicing optimal health habits. Eat a diet that is mostly (85-90%) plant based; fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Minimize animal protein, well, there are a number of reasons and I'd be happy to share those with you. Bascially, this advice is based on long term research. I recommend reading The China Study by T Colin Campbell. Contact me and we can discuss the optimal diet. This diet should be followed by your husband or partner as well.

Exercise is very important. Again, research shows that pregnancies are more successful when you are fit and exercise regularly.

Get adequate sleep and reduce stress.

Be careful of isolated supplements, including prenatals. An article in O, Oprah's magazine, had a number of supplements tested, and a couple of prenatals DID NOT have the amount of folic acid in the tablets as was listed on the label. In fact, I have read, and will share, emerging research that non-food sources of folic acid can actually increase the risk of asthma in children. As my authorities tell me, you are much better off with a prescription prenatal than you are with otc.

Additional research shows that trans fats have a negative effect on pregnancies. The FDA says that a small amount daily 'should be ok' but the docs I work with say absolutely no partially or fully hydrogenated fats.

I urge you to give me a call so I can share all of these little known pieces of research so that you can make your most informed decision possible. I also have research on a whole food supplement, being studied currently at the University of Mississippi on pregnancy outcomes, showing that women taking this supplement had no cases of preenclampsia, no pre-term births, no neo-natal care....just fabulous outcomes.

I am taking a series of classes taught by a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. I am happy to share what I know with you, and anyone else who wants to learn.

Good luck. D. ###-###-####

Stay away from cleaning chemicals- use only natural cleaners. The American Red Cross tested umbilical cord blood and found 287 industrial chemicals in newborns- chemicals come from cosmetics and personal care items, too.
Prenatals are a good idea, but most are made in China and contain lead- check out at FDA.gov search box "Lead in Vitamins" and you will pull up 22 pages of women's, children's and prenatals that contain lead. Shaklee is an American company that makes safe, healthy everything- cleaners, cosmetics, vitamins, personal care items. I can help you if this interests you. Best Wishes, M.

First it is wonderful that you don't smoke or drink.

Second it is wise of you to find out what to do now to prepare your body to create a healthy baby. So here are my tips:

Don't use any artificial sweetners.
Limit caffeine
Drink water (1/2 your weight in ounces)
Fresh vegetables and fruits daily
Exercise (of course you want to be careful of certain exercises, asking a trainer, doctor, etc would be wise)
Supplements/vitamins--I realize many women take prenatal vitamins, but realistically you can't get everything you need in one tablet. Folic acid is very difficult to get into a vitamin (which is crucial for brain development), calcium/magnesium/vitamin D is a great combination in a supplement.

Finally realize that whatever you ingest, so does the baby and 10 times more, the baby will take nutrients from you so it is important to get calcium/magnesium/vitamin D into your body so you don't loose bone density.

Making small changes now, will help you when you do conceive.

Oh and one last thing. Don't stress about it. God has a plan for all of us.

Exercise, definitely. Especially weight training - having stronger muscles will make it easier on your joints when you're carrying the extra pregnancy weight. (and easier to lug around a baby in a carseat later!)

Also, if you don't already have a solid routine down, you or your husband should practice cooking! You will be MUCH happier (and healthier) if you have at least a dozen reliable recipes that are easy to shop for and you're practiced at preparing.

take pre-natal vitamins.
Yes, already... even before getting pregnant.
Also, "stress" can affect conception... they say that if you are stressed it can sometimes make things take longer...
See your OB/GYN for an exam, and ask any questions as well that you have.
Eat healthily

Make sure you know when you are ovulating... and ovulation symptoms. Because this is WHEN you can conceive.

all the best,
Susan

Load up on folic acid and just keep your stress down. Take it easy and have fun!! Good luck!!

Before I tried to get pregnant. I went in for a physical with my family doctor. If you are due for a pap, do the physical with your ob. And tell them you want to start trying and they will give you lots of advice and help. And if they need to run any blood work at all, they will do it now, and make sure things are ok. With my doctor, my blood sugar and cholesterol were run right away, because of family history.

Get on a prenatal NOW. Since i first started trying i have taken only prenatals. they are an excellent multi vitamin for a woman all the time, but it will also make sure that your baby gets mmuch needed folic acid right at the beginning when the baby needs the folic acid.

Good luck.....

Get your dental cleaning out of the way (your gums become very sensitive during pregnancy), cut out caffeine as much as possible, take a prenatal vitamin every day, make sure you love your OB/GYN or start looking for a new one, and most importantly learn to RELAX... the last one is the hardest! Try not to put too much pressure on yourself. My husband and I tried for eight months before we finally got pregnant during the ninth... I don't think it's a coincidence that in the ninth month I stopped charting and adopted a "whatever happens happens" attitude... I drank wine and didn't schedule our "attempts" around my ovulation date.

GOOD LUCK!!

The best advice my OB gave me (besides your standard cut out the sushi, lunchmeat, and other dietary no-nos) was to kick the caffeine addiction NOW (if you have one--I was a 5-cup-a-day kind of gal). With my first pregnancy, coffee was a terrible, terrible morning sickness trigger--my very first sign that I was pregnant was when I was driving to work one morning with my usual bucket of (at that point decaf) coffee, and suddenly thought, "if I have even one more sip of that I'm going to have to pull over and vomit right now!" Sure enough, I couldn't bear the sight, smell, or taste of coffee for the rest of the pregnancy. Thanks to my OB, I had gone through the (literal) headache of caffeine withdrawal a couple of months previous, so didn't have to deal with the caffeine withdrawal AND the morning sickness at the same time. I was very very grateful for that advice! (btw, every pregnancy is different, so coffee might not make you ill--I'm currently on pregnancy number 3, and also my 3rd cup of decaf of the day--but in any case you should not be on much if any caffeine while pregnant). GL!

Start taking prenate vitamins now. Your nails will grow faster and stronger, along with getting your body ready.