Optimizing Your Pre-Pregnancy Health
A woman’s lifestyle pre-pregnancy can have an impact on fertility. Diet, exercise, and stress can all affect how easily a woman gets pregnant. Most women are aware of needing to limit caffeine and alcohol. Consider these 4 additional lifestyle changes that can boost the chances of getting pregnant.
1. Add healthy foods
Eating a variety of nutritious foods is crucial for having a healthy pregnancy and baby. Making diet tweaks can be challenging. Instead of restricting, try to focus on adding the right foods. For example, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and healthy foods will all contribute to a well-balanced diet. While indulging in dessert or sugar is okay every once in a while, try to focus on proper nutrition most of the time. And improving the diet now will make maintaining these good habits even easier during pregnancy.
2. Tweak your exercise routine
Physical activity increases heart health, builds bone strength, and improves mental health. However, too much high-intensity exercise can harm fertility. Instead of running or daily boot-camp, try to create a balanced exercise routine. Opt for moderate-intensity activity options like swimming, yoga, Pilates, walking, or biking. And while managing weight is essential, being underweight can also make getting pregnant harder.
3. Quit bad habits
Some specific habits are always harmful to health, but especially when a woman is trying to get pregnant. Smoking during pregnancy will increase the risk of preterm labor, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Avoiding alcohol during pregnancy is a non-negotiable, but women can also benefit from limiting alcohol consumption when trying to get pregnant. Besides being good for health, since women are not always aware of pregnancy immediately, this can also decrease the risk that a woman will accidentally drink while pregnant.
4. Focus on your mental health
Taking care of emotional and mental health is essential to having a healthy pregnancy. Having lots of emotions is normal. Try to set aside time for self-care and leisure activities. Relaxing activities like meditation or journaling may be particularly helpful for relieving stress. These habits also can help women sleep better, which is an often-overlooked health habit.
Have a healthy pregnancy
Even after making these changes, some women will still have trouble getting pregnant. Infertility is not the end of the road. Speak with an OB/GYN for any concerns or questions regarding pregnancy. These healthcare providers can identify any underlying conditions or provide treatment options to improve fertility.