BT July 2019

Bump to Birth
Fertility & Conception
Aiming for a healthy
pregnancy? Start
even before you get
pregnant.
You’ve probably heard about the
importance of acid folic - it’s a type of
B vitamin that helps to prevent neural
tube defects in fetuses. These defects
are said to mostly occur during the
early formative days after conception.
For a majority of women, regular
intake of this crucial nutrient officially
begins as soon as they find out they’re
pregnant at their doctor’s office, for
they do not generally know about
their pregnancies immediately after
conception. By the time they begin to
take it, it may be too late. While neural
tube defects are not a particularly
common occurrence, and there is no
need for excessive worry, it’s always
better to be safe than sorry. In short,
take heed of the universal advice that
all women of childbearing age should
take a supplement containing 0.4 mg
of folic acid each day to reduce the
risks of a pregnancy affected by neural
tube defects.
Here are a few other aspects of a
healthy pregnancy to look into before
you get pregnant.
Have a reproductive plan.
Yes, it’s exactly as it sounds - plan
how many kids your partner and you
would like to have. Then only can you
plan their timings too, to have a better
chance of achieving your goals in life.
Get your doctor on board with this plan
for he’ll be able to point you to the
right direction and also help smoothen
out any issues pertaining to your prepregnancy
health, etc.
Practice a healthy lifestyle
In other words, eat well and exercise
regularly. These steps go a long way
in helping you reduce the chances
of developing gestational diabetes
(high blood sugar diagnosed during
pregnancy), but you’ll have to make the
right changes before you get pregnant.
Gestational diabetes can be dangerous
to your health as well as your infant’s.
Studies have shown that pre-pregnancy
exercise may actually help lower risk for
gestational diabetes, and the benefit
increases with more vigorous levels of
exercise - again, the key point here is,
before you get pregnant.
Thinking of getting pregnant?
Modify your diet. Here are some
suggestions:
• Increase your intake of fiber. Just
taking in an extra 10 grams of
fiber in the form of wholegrain
cereals, fruits, and vegetables is
associated with 26% lower risk of
gestational diabetes.
• Is gulping cola or similar sweet,
carbonated drinks
a daily thing
for you? Ditch
them! Or, at
least, reduce your
consumption.
Women who
drank five or more
such beverages
per week before
they got pregnant
were at greater risk of
gestational diabetes.
• Consume less red meat as well as
processed meats. Eating less of
these foods before pregnancy can
decrease the chances of developing
diabetes when you are pregnant.
• Replace animal protein with protein
from nuts to lower your risk of
gestational diabetes. Studies have
shown that substituting vegetable
protein for animal protein before
pregnancy can decrease the risk of
gestational diabetes by about half.
Have you been vaccinated?
Inquire from your doctor if you
need a booster for any vaccines.
Some vaccines can be given during
pregnancy, but the rubella and
varicella vaccines are recommended
before you get pregnant.
Are you at your ideal weight?
Not only is it more difficult to conceive
if you’re overweight or obese, but
also, being so puts you at risk for
complications during pregnancy, such
as high blood pressure, preeclampsia,
gestational diabetes, and stillbirth.
There’ll also be a higher chance that
your baby will have to be born via a
cesarean delivery. Talk to your health
care provider to find out what a healthy
weight is for you and about a plan to
help you achieve it
If you have a health issue, talk
to your doctor before getting
pregnant
Many health problems affect not only
the pregnant woman but also the
developing infant. Some examples
are diabetes, high blood pressure,
infections, asthma, seizure disorders.
Getting health problems under
control before and during pregnancy
reduces the risk of miscarriage and
stillbirth as well as other health
problems for the infant.
42 BabyTalk | July 2019