How to Prepare Your Body for Pregnancy

Pregnancy causes a significant change in your body. You may be feeling great and excited about it, but don’t forget to take care of yourself before you get pregnant. Your body needs time to adjust to the hormonal changes that come with pregnancy. The following tips will help prepare your body for pregnancy.

Prenatal Exercises

Prenatal exercises are important because they help prepare your body for the changes that happen during pregnancy. These exercises can also reduce some common discomforts associated with pregnancy, such as back pain and fatigue. In addition, prenatal exercise programs may improve blood sugar control in women who have gestational diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Pre-pregnancy workouts are essential when preparing for pregnancy since they help in increasing fertility, primarily if you practice moderate aerobic exercises. Besides, prenatal exercise reduces the risk of excessive weight gain during pregnancy, which can lead to a host of complications related to birth and beyond. Establishing a fitness routine before, during, and after pregnancy can help you stay in shape, provide an optimal growth environment for your baby, and greatly reduce the stresses of daily living.

Eat Well

When you are pregnant, your body needs more nutrients to support the pregnancy. Eating well is essential for the health of both mom and baby. Some foods are not safe during pregnancy because they could cause food poisoning or other problems for an unborn child. However, most healthy people can enjoy a variety of nutritious foods whether they’re pregnant or not–including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products (or alternatives), fresh fruits and vegetables (preferably organic), and whole grains (like oatmeal).

It’s wise to limit caffeine consumption to less than 200 milligrams per day and alcohol consumption to one drink per day if you’re trying to get pregnant. And you must eat enough calories each day so that you don’t have a hard time gaining weight. If you are underweight, overweight, or have an eating disorder, you may need to see your doctor before becoming pregnant to discuss how many calories you should eat each day.

Reduce Alcohol Intake

It is common knowledge that drinking alcohol can harm your brain. Excessive drinking can also cause congenital disabilities in newborns and other problems for pregnant women. Drinking alcohol while trying to conceive or when you are already pregnant may lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, low birth weight, or lifelong disabilities in children.

If you must drink, then limit yourself to one alcoholic beverage per day only. Aside from the risk of causing congenital disabilities, drinking alcohol while trying to conceive or when you are pregnant can harm you. Studies have shown that consuming just one alcoholic beverage daily during pregnancy may cause children mental and physical developmental problems.

There is also a correlation between heavy drinking and miscarriage risk in women who are trying to conceive. Drinking throughout pregnancy can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome, which is the leading cause of mental retardation. Alcohol reduces fertility and increases the risk of miscarriage and other health problems for both men and women.

Manage Stress

Stress can make a person sick. The immune system is the part of the body’s natural defenses that fights infection and disease. When stress levels get too high, it can cause your immune system to work less efficiently than usual, which means you’re more likely to get sick. Stress also makes it harder for some women to become pregnant.

The hormones released during times of high stress can interfere with pregnancy hormones. They may play a role in causing infertility or miscarriage among those who already had fertility problems before they got stressed out. It would help if you considered managing your stress as much as possible, so you won’t be making yourself even more vulnerable by letting your stress levels go unchecked.

Start Taking Prenatal Vitamins

One of the most important things that a woman can take is prenatal vitamins, which are specially formulated to provide her unborn child’s essential nutrients. But before you panic and start taking any old vitamin from the store shelf, consider these four reasons why it’s so crucial for mothers-to-be to take prenatal vitamins:

• You’ll give your fetus all the nutrients they need to grow into a healthy baby.
• You’ll be giving yourself all the proper nutrition as well.
• Taking prenatal vitamins will help prevent specific congenital disabilities and diseases like spina bifida and neural tube defects.

If you want to prepare your body for pregnancy, you should eat a balanced diet and take prenatal vitamins. Your doctor will be able to provide the best advice on what is suitable for your specific situation. Remember that good nutrition can help with everything from morning sickness to increasing fertility rates.