Preparing your body for conception and pregnancy is an essential step in ensuring you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. We highly recommend Fertility Acupuncture as part of your preparation but also suggest the following too:
1. Before starting to conceive there are some blood tests that can help you understand your current fertility status these are:
FSH ( follicle stimulating hormone) – which simply tells us how hard your body is working to stimulate and grow your eggs each month.
LH ( lutinising hormone) – a higher reading, can indicate underlying health issues.
Oestrogen levels – this can help us understand how your body is processing oestrogen, which can affect your fertility.
Progesterone levels – levels needs to be checked 6-7 days after your ovulate (not just on day 21 unless you have ovulated on day 14). This tells us if you have ovulated and if your progesterone levels are high enough to sustain a pregnancy.
2. Maintain a healthy diet: A Mediterranean diet is considered the most fertility friendly. This includes a well-balanced diet rich in a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats which are crucial for both you and your future baby. Folic acid is particularly important in early pregnancy to help prevent birth defects, so consider taking a prenatal vitamin with folic acid before conception.
3. Stay physically active: Regular exercise can help improve your overall health, boost your mood, and prepare your body for pregnancy. Try and work out with, not against your menstrual cycle. This means doing higher strain exercise around ovulation when your oestrogen and testosterone levels are higher, as your will recover quicker, and doing more restorative exercise like yoga or walking, on and around your period.
4. Manage your weight: Aim for a healthy weight before conceiving, as being either underweight or overweight can affect fertility and pregnancy outcomes.
5. Quit smoking and avoid alcohol and drugs: Smoking, alcohol, and recreational drugs can harm both fertility and the developing foetus. It’s best to stop using them well before conception.
6. Manage stress: High levels of stress can affect fertility and make it harder to conceive. Find healthy ways to cope with stress, such as exercise, meditation, Fertility Acupuncture or engaging in activities you enjoy.
7. Get enough sleep: Adequate sleep is crucial for your overall health and well-being, and it plays a role in fertility as well.
8. Know your menstrual cycle: Tracking your Menstrual cycle for example using a BBT (Basal Body temperature chart) can help you to identify for most fertile days to make the most out of each fertile window. It can also give insight into how your hormones working and can highlohht some underlying health conditions for example thyroid function.
9. Discuss medications: If you’re taking any prescription medications, talk to your healthcare provider about their safety during pregnancy. Some medications may need to be adjusted or changed before conception.
10. Check for infections: Screen for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as some infections can affect fertility and pregnancy. Here at our Fertility Acupuncture clinic, we recommend that you test your Vaginal Microbiome too, we can recommend a test provider for this and then help you to interpret your results. This is especially important if you have unexplained infertility and/or suffer recurrent UTI’s, thrush or any other vaginal health issues.
11. Limit exposure to harmful substances: Minimise exposure to environmental toxins, such as plastics, hazardous chemicals, and certain cleaning agents that may be harmful to pregnancy.
12. Discuss family medical history: Talk to your healthcare provider about any family medical history that may impact your pregnancy or the baby’s health.
Remember that each person’s health and body are unique – if you would like further advise on the above and how Fertility Acupuncture can support you in preparing for conception and/or pregnancy then please book a discovery call here.
