Planning Is Key to a Healthy Pregnancy

Whether you’re planning to become one of the 6 million American women who become pregnant each year or already are pregnant, the healthy choices you make before and during pregnancy can have a lasting impact on you and your unborn child.

Planning your pregnancies

Experts say one of the most important things a woman or couple can do is to plan for pregnancy.

“We encourage people to prevent pregnancy until they are ready to have a child and to plan for future pregnancies,” says Marilyn Laughead, M.D., an obstetrician-gynecologist in Scottsdale, Ariz.

When you’re ready to welcome a child into the world, experts recommend you take these steps, before you try to conceive, to help ensure you’ll have a safe delivery and a healthy baby:

See a doctor or certified nurse-midwife for a pre-pregnancy exam that includes a pelvic exam, a pap smear, a review of your medical and family history, vaccinations you may need, medications and herbs you take, any past pregnancies you’ve had, your diet and lifestyle, and, if needed, screening for genetic conditions such as cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs Disease, and sickle cell disease.
Stop smoking.
Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
Exercise regularly.
Get adequate sleep.
Reduce stress.
Maintain a healthy weight before becoming pregnant and follow your doctor’s or certified nurse-midwife’s instructions on healthy weight gain during pregnancy.
Take 400 mcg of folic acid daily, beginning at least three months before planning to become pregnant.
Treat and control medical problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Talk with your doctor about the safety of any medications you take.
Avoid alcohol.
During pregnancy

As soon as you suspect you’re pregnant, make an appointment to see a doctor or certified nurse-midwife.

“There is a definite relationship between early prenatal care and a healthy pregnancy outcome,” says Dr. Laughead.

Your doctor can give you advice about diet, prenatal vitamins, exercise, and other issues that may affect you and your baby, and help prevent and/or treat pregnancy-related complications.

Choose the right care

These questions will help you find a doctor or certified nurse-midwife and hospital that meet your pregnancy and delivery needs:

Where does the doctor or certified nurse-midwife admit his or her patients for delivery? Is he or she in your health insurance plan network?
What are the after-hours and on-call procedures?
How many people can be present for labor and delivery?
Will you undergo labor and delivery in the same room or go to a birthing room for delivery?
What are the policies on visitation and siblings?
Does the baby stay in the same room with you?
Are rooms private or semiprivate?
What breast-feeding support services are available?
What level of care can the hospital provide to sick newborns?

Discover How You Can Treat Infertility Naturally, Without Drugs or Surgery

Related Pregnancy Questions Articles

Planning a Pregnancy One of the Often Overlooked Stages of Pregnancy

Many people refer to the stages of pregnancy as the three trimesters. However, your health before you get pregnant plays an important role in having a healthy pregnancy and in giving birth to a healthy baby. Although many pregnancies are unplanned, when you do start thinking about having a baby it is essential to start the process of planning.  Before you even know that you are pregnant, the baby is starting to form in the womb and the organs are starting to develop. To give the little one a head start, the planning stage is a critical one that you shouldn’t overlook.

When you plan your pregnancy, you will likely conceive easier and avoid many of the complications associated with pregnancies. The healthier you are before you get pregnant, the easier delivery you will have and the faster you will recover. This means being aware of your body and the changes it will go through over the 40 weeks of the pregnancy.  You do need to have a complete check up to ensure you don’t have any pre-existing medical conditions that will make it difficult for you to conceive and carry the baby to full term. The first step is to stop taking birth control pills. It may take you two or three months after this to be able to conceive. However, if you are using other methods or birth control, such as condoms or a diaphragm, you can easily become pregnant right away.

You should know the common signs of being pregnant, such as a missed period, tender and swollen breasts, an increase in the urge to urinate and nausea. Your emotions will also start to change so that you may start crying over very insignificant things, which could cause your partner to get frustrated with you. These changes occur before you have your first pregnancy test, so you may not even realize that you are going to have a baby.

The care giver you choose is a part of planning your pregnancy as well. You may opt to use a midwife or a physician. If you do encounter complications, the physician may refer you to a gynaecologist early in the pregnancy or may wait until later. You should get used to being poked and prodded and having many different kinds of medical tests and exams. These include blood tests, tests for glucose and urine tests. Ultrasounds are also part of the prenatal care in which the doctor can determine the health of the baby.

Where you choose to have your baby is also something that you need to consider. While many women choose to have the baby in the regular delivery room of the hospital, you may want to have your baby at home. You do need to make sure that the birth setting you choose offers the best medical care so that if complications arise during the birth they can be handled at this location.

Learning to reduce the amount of stress in your life is also a part of the planning stage. Stress can cause you to enjoy or detest the idea of being pregnant, which in turn will affect the health of the baby. Make sure you are in good physical shape before you become pregnant so that your muscles, joints and ligaments are strong. You should also continue with your exercise as best you can while you are pregnant.

Is your pregnancy test positive? Congratulations! Here’s what to expect during weeks one through four. ――――――――――――――――――――――― WATCH MORE PREGNANCY VIDEOS! Click Here: »»» pregnancy.healthguru.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Related Stages Of Pregnancy Articles