Five Things To Keep In Mind While Conceiving
Conceiving is an act of godliness and a commitment to a healthy baby outcome. Healthy mothers yield a healthy baby, and the commitment has to be there for the entire 9 months or 280 days that you carry the baby.
In fact, the commitment begins way before at least 3-6 months before you actually conceive your babies, and continues during pregnancy, delivery, breastfeeding, and till your baby is 2 years of age. These 1000 days of your baby’s life from inception to conception through pregnancy and early childhood are the foundation of future lifelong health.
Following Are The Five Things To Keep In Mind When Conceiving
1. Check you: Get yourself checked by your gynecologist and ensure your health and get screened for diseases and disorders such as anemia, thyroid dysfunction, diabetes, hemoglobinopathies, obesity, blood pressure abnormalities, heart ailments, allergies, and asthmatic conditions. Correct these disorders as they are correctable.
2. Medications shift: If on any prescription medications get yourself assessed and decide a pregnancy-friendly medicine shift with your doctor to protect the periconceptional period of the pregnancy. This way your health gets reassessed and the baby is protected against adverse influences if foreseen. Medications such as antipsychotics, antiepileptics, etc are needed to be shifted.
3. Healthy eating, healthy act, healthy think: Drop the junk, trans fats, unhealthy foods and start increasing loads of proteins, folates, calcium, DHA, legumes, nuts in your diet. If suffering from digestive ailments immediately get them corrected. You must be in a high nutritive environment when conceiving and therefore digestion is necessary. Start exercising regularly at least 5 hours a week and make a regimen that is a mix of resistance, weight-bearing, and deep breathing exercise. Yoga, floor exercises, breathing ritual combined in various forms work wonders.
Be mindful and stress-free and be in the natural instinctive flow. Balance your work and personal commitments and ensure a good schedule. Follow the sun cycle of an early rise and early sleep to ensure proper hormones to have a healthy conception. Early morning walks, affirmations are beneficial. Pregnancy is a blessing from the universe and you must be prepared to receive this gift. Positivity in all your acts and thoughts helps. Be confident and fearless and enjoy the new wonderful experience. Accept the associated changes that ensue. Be content with no worry, no anger, only calm and happiness is the dictum.
4. Supplement and Shots: Supplement daily foods with folic acid, DHA, Vitamin D, and calcium at least 3 months ahead of conception. Complete your adult vaccination schedules such as rubella, hepatitis B, and HPV shots. It’s also a good practice to protect against varicella this time.
5. No self-medication and inadvertent exposures: Do not take any OTC (Over the Counter) medications for any reasons if you are planning babies. Many women use old prescribed medicines lying in the home medicine box or take the medicines from the pharmacist for issues such as fever, headache, body ache, acidity, period postponement, emergency contraceptive, etc.
Sometimes X Rays are taken or shots are taken for some other reasons and if these fall around the timing of your conception can cause a teratogenic effect leading to birth defects in the baby. Even high-grade fever or hot water bags used around the pelvis can cause this and one should avoid such practices.