Pre-pregnancy diet
If you are planning a pregnancy, good health is just as important. Establishing good eating habits now will make it easier to maintain a sensible diet when you are pregnant - great news for your developing baby.
Increase your folic acid intake
Studies show that the earlier you start taking folic acid, and ideally, you'll have taken it for the three months leading up to conception, the lower the chances that your baby will develop neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Folic acid is found in leafy green vegetables and whole grains, but many mums-to-be take an additional prenatal supplement of folic acid to ensure they are meeting their daily requirement at this time. Choose a prenatal supplement with 400 to 600 mcg (micrograms) of folic acid to be sure you're getting your fill.
Ditch the junk food
Refined sugars and grains and saturated fats are what makes most junk food so appealing. Which is fine in small amounts most of the time but when you're preparing your body for conception, it's best to stay away from these empty calories that only undo your best efforts at eating well.
Eat the right stuff
Increase all the good things that your body needs to be healthy: leafy greens, delicious fruit, whole grains and low-fat dairy. Make sure you include foods rich in protein, calcium and iron each day. Good dietary sources of iron include lean red meat, pork, poultry, fish, wholemeal bread, cereals, legumes and green, leafy vegetables. If you are a vegetarian, consider taking an additional iron supplement at this time.
Be honest about your eating habits
When considering your pre-pregnancy diet, it's best to take an honest look at the way you eat now. While no-one is suffering (except you!) if you skip meals, eat junk food, or binge eat right now, once you do conceive you will have someone else to consider - someone who is physically reliant on you treating your body well at all time.
While it can be challenging to undo the habits of a lifetime, it is better to tackle them now than later when your bad eating habits may pose a health risk to both you and your baby.
Preparing to conceive
To
give both you and your baby the best chance of enjoying a healthy
pregnancy, some careful planning can help you prepare to conceive
safely.
Be healthy
Establishing a sensible exercise regime and healthy diet in the
months leading up to trying to conceive will ensure that your body is
in great shape, making it easier for you to cope with the physical
demands that pregnancy has on your body.
Women with diabetes need extra care
If you do have diabetes (either type 1 or type 2), it is very
important that you speak to your doctor or diabetes clinic about
becoming pregnant. Maintaining correct blood sugar levels when you are
trying to get pregnant should be done with care. Once you are pregnant
you will need to monitor and control the diabetes very carefully
throughout your entire pregnancy.
Genetic testing
If you know that there is a genetic condition in your family, or
your partner's family, speak to your doctor before trying to conceive.
They may recommend you see a specialist for further advice. Once you
are pregnant there are tests that can identify a number of genetic
conditions.
Immunisation
In the lead-up to conception, it is a good time to check your own immunisation history.
Immunisation offers protection from some infections that can cause
serious illnesses. For pregnant women, as well as their unborn babies
or infants, some of these infections can cause birth defects.
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Rubella
Rubella infections during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects
that affect the eyes, ears, brain and heart. If a pregnant woman
catches rubella within the first 8-10 weeks of pregnancy, the chance
that her baby will be born with a range of problems, including
deafness, heart problems and intellectual disability, will be quite
high. An unborn baby whose mother catches rubella anytime within the
first 20 weeks of pregnancy is at the most risk.
Before you get pregnant, ask your doctor to order a blood test to
find out if you are already immune. If you are not immune then you can
be immunised.
If you were born after 1966 you may need a booster shot of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination.
Whooping cough
Another dangerous infection is whooping cough. With many infants in
Australia catching this from their parents, whooping cough may cause
serious illness and even death in babies less than 6 months of age. If
both parents are vaccinated before conception, the chance of passing it
on are lessened dramatically. Whooping cough vaccine can be given
before pregnancy.
Flu
You can be immunised against influenza before or during pregnancy to protect you and your baby against Influenza.
Pneumococcal infections
Immunisation can provide protection against pneumococcal disease,
which, for groups who are already 'at risk', such as smokers, or people
with a chronic disease. Immunisation is best done before becoming
pregnant.
REMEMBER!
You will need to wait a month after your immunisation before you try to get pregnant.
Early pregnancy symptoms
You may experience some of the signs of early pregnancy before you have your pregnancy confirmed with a pregnancy test.
Early symptoms of pregnancy may include:
Missed period Also known as amenorrhoea, missing a period
is generally considered the surest sign of pregnancy. In the first
trimester of pregnancy, though, it is possible to have a light period
(similar to the spotting that can occur when you're on the Pill) while
your hormones increase to pregnancy levels. It's also possible to miss
a period due to factors other than pregnancy stress, medication,
being underweight or overweight can all have an effect your menstrual
cycle.
Morning sickness It's estimated that nausea and vomiting
affects about 85% of pregnant women in their first trimester. Generally
starting in 6 to 9 weeks, it usually begins to improve by 14 weeks,
though some women can suffer from morning sickness before they even
have their pregnancy confirmed. While there's no one reason why morning
sickness occurs but it is generally considered to be the result of a
combination of elevated oestrogen levels and low blood sugar.
Anecdotally, many women also report suffering more from morning
sickness with second and subsequent pregnancies.
Tender, swollen breasts.Just as your breasts can become tender
before each period due to hormonal changes, the hormonal changes
associated with pregnancy can also cause your breasts to become
extremely swollen and sore. This tenderness usually dissipates by the
end of the first trimester when hormones levels stabilise.
Extreme fatigue No amount of sleep deprivation can ever
match the overwhelming exhaustion associated with the early weeks of
pregnancy. Coping with this fatigue can be difficult and is caused by
your rising hormones (particularly progesterone)
and metabolism combined with a lowering of your blood sugar and blood
pressure. By the second trimester these factors will have stabilised
and you'll begin to have more energy again.
Frequent urination While frequent urination is a feature of both the first and third trimesters, it is the change in pregnancy hormone levels,
along with increased body fluids, that will have you running to the
toilet every ten minutes day and night! There is no way around this
and it will gradually improve so don't try restricting your fluids as
it's important for you and bub to stay properly hydrated.
Food cravings 85% of all pregnant women confess to having
food cravings at some point in their pregnancy and you may find that
as soon as the morning sickness eases up, you begin to desire
particular foods. Top of the food craving hit-list are sweet foods,
closely followed by salty snacks though many women report craving
foods they ordinarily don't care for.
Constipation In the first trimester, increasing hormone
levels can cause constipation which, while not serious, can be
extremely uncomfortable and can lead to haemorrhoids.
Headaches Again, changes in hormone levels can cause
frequent headaches, along with changes to your blood circulation, and
while some pregnancy women continue to suffer from headaches throughout
their pregnancy, for most these will gradually improve as they reach
their second trimester.
Mood swings Early pregnancy is often marked by mood swings
that can have you laughing one minute and crying the next. In the first
trimester, the combination of hormone levels and fatigue can leave you
feeling vulnerable to wide mood swings.
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