Mommy MOT: Everything You Should Do Before Trying For A Baby
While some women are lucky and hardly need to try before they’ve fallen pregnant it can take others up to a year or more, so if you’re ready to hear the patter of tiny feet you’ll want to do everything possible to ensure you conceive quickly. However, before you start there are a few things every couple should do to boost their chances, including eating healthily, exercising regularly and keeping an eye on both partner’s weight.
Book A Pre-Conception Check Up
It’s great that you want to have a child but before you get to what Mumsnet euphemistically calls ‘baby dancing’ it’s best to have a health MOT first. A pre-conception check up consists of having a GP, or even midwife run through your reproductive health i.e. how sexually active you are, what your menstrual cycle’s like and if you’ve had any previous successful, or unsuccessful pregnancies. They’ll also discuss your general health and any medical conditions such as diabetes, heart problems or even mental health issues you may have. As well as carrying out routine physical tests including taking blood samples, checking your heartbeat, and assessing your height and weight. While this visit is by no means mandatory, it can be a good place to start because you’ll know that you’re in optimum health and will have had the opportunity to chat about any concerns.
Get Yourselves Tested
It sounds strange to have a sexual health test when you’ve been with the same person for years but if you’ve been using condoms all this time it is, in fact, recommended. Even if you’ve only ever had unprotected sex once before you could still have a sexually transmitted disease. Many diseases like chlamydia are practically symptomless, but can still have a huge effect on your ability to conceive as if left unchecked it eventually makes women infertile. Typically, a sexual health clinic will test you for HIV, hepatitis b, and syphilis amongst others but these are ones that can be passed to the baby while in the womb. To find your local clinic ask your doctor or log on to prioritystdtesting.com, where you can order a confidential test via phone, or text and receive the results in just 24 to 72 hours. Once you’ve both been tested and nothing untoward has been found, then you’re ready to start trying knowing you’re both as clean as a whistle down there.
Lead A Healthy Lifestyle
There’s no point trying for a baby if you’re drinking, smoking, partying until the early hours or living off a diet of junk food and takeaways. Being pregnant requires plenty of sacrifices, one of which is binning the booze for the next nine or so months because you don’t want your baby at risk of developing fetal alcohol syndrome while inside the womb. Smoking is another massive no no and so’s filling your body with lots of sugar, fat and unhealthy carbohydrates. Babies need lots of healthy, nourishing food that’ll help them grow including fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meats and vitamins including folic acid which aids bone development. If you’re currently on contraception it’s recommended that you stop taking it around three months beforehand.
