Eating Right Before You Are Pregnant

Eating right before you get pregnant, is one of the best ways to improve your chances of conception.  Given the most critical days for human development are the first few days post conception, a properly balanced and nutritious diet before you are pregnant can help to ensure implantation and a healthy pregnancy. Another benefit, you probably won’t know you are pregnant until 6-8 weeks into pregnancy, eating right for yourself will provide your growing baby with good nutrition right from the start.

A healthy, balanced diet includes controlled portions of fresh veggies, fruit, whole grains, dairy products, and lean protein. Professionals recommend minimizing saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, and added sugar as well. Being healthy also means getting adequate exercise. If you don’t exercise regularly, talk to your health care provider, they’ll provide you with tools and referrals to help you get started.

A few things to include in your diet:

Prenatal Vitamins- Get into the routine of taking a daily supplement before you are inundated with all the baby stuff.  It’s a sensible way to provide you and your baby with key nutrients especially if your current eating habits are poor, or if you are experience morning sickness when you become pregnant. Evidence shows that prenatal vitamins may also lower the risk of childhood cancers like leukemia (Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics).

Folic Acid- Since Folic Acid was added to cereals, the rates of serious- even fatal- birth defects has decreased. Loading up on Folic Acid before pregnancy and during, can reduce your chance of delivering a baby with neural tube defects and other serious defects to the spine or brain by 50%. Food sources of folic acid include legumes, dark leafy green veggies, citrus fruits, and whole wheat bread.

Omega-3’s- Essential fatty acids, DHA and EPA are commonly found in fish. Omega-3’s are essential to human health but cannot be manufactured by the human body. For this reason, omega-3 fatty acids must be obtained from food or supplemented by vitamins.

Zinc- This trace mineral plays a huge role in reproductive health. It helps with ovulation and fertilization in women and maintains correct semen level and testosterone levels in men.

Chasteberry- Talk to your physician about Chasteberry before taking this herb.  It has been indicated in at least one study to help regulate ovulation and resolve hormonal imbalances. However, if you suspect you might be pregnant, stop taking this herb at once. This herb should NOT be taken during pregnancy or breastfeeding!

Conception and Ovulation are two sides of same coin and a crucial stage in the delicate balance of hormonal system, sperm production and pregnancy. A man produces sperm every day, while women ovulate only once during an ovulation cycle. In this short time period of 7 to 21 days, the egg is fertilized or destroyed, and conception takes place.

During Conception several eggs are released by both ovaries. Ovulation is triggered by the body releasing luteinizing hormone, or LH. If sperm is successful in fertilizing the egg, it results in a series of cell divisions increasing in number every 14 to 18 hours. The embryo, containing about 50 to 100 cells, reaches the uterus about five days after ovulation. It then expands and hatches through the accompanying eggshell to implant and replicate.

Timing the cycle from Ovulation to Conception is important, in that women sometimes are too stressed out or physically unfit to go through with the process. A woman's emotional and physical health plays a major role in her productivity quotient. To test this quotient, instruments such as Fertility Monitors, Ferning Microscopes or basal body thermometers are useful. Sometimes these tests or instruments prove ineffective if women are going through menopause symptoms, impaired liver or kidney function or polycystic ovarian syndrome. Certain antibiotics, like tetracyclines, affect a woman's cycle of hormonal contraception, fertility treatments or hormone replacement therapy. Equally important is the timing of birth control pills. Traveling, change of jobs, illness, weight loss or vigorous exercising can affect Ovulation.

On occasions, such as sex during fertile time, some women do not conceive immediately, or the egg does not implant even with Ovulation. The problem is the timing of intercourse, since Conception takes place with Ovulation and it is spoiled by hard work, stress or problems. So plan sex on the day of ovulation or, at most, two days before it, taking into account that men need up to two days to regenerate their sperm reserves. Strategize Conception and Ovulation by maintaining an Ovulation calendar to predict fertile dates, end of menstrual cycle and possible due dates.

Ovulation and Conception are major issues in a woman�s life, Conception is more likely to be successful if a woman maintains a calm attitude through activities and diet that enhance fertility.

Ovulation After Miscarriage provides detailed information on ovulation, ovulation after miscarriage, ovulation and conception, ovulation bleeding and more. Ovulation After Miscarriage is affiliated with  How To Get Pregnant.

To find other free health content see   e-healtharticles.com

When we decide to get pregnant at the age of 29 I never thought that we would have problems that would take us to IVF. I had irregular periods, but we tried to conceive for 6 months with no luck and no period. So we decided that it was time to go talk with a doctor. I thought that it would be an easy fix maybe with an ovulation stimulator such as Clomid.  I didn’t think that I would be diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome known as PCOS.  It is a hard syndrome to fix as it varies with every individual. We started out very hopeful and went in each month to see if ovulation was occurring. It was not!

We then moved on to the next type of treatment, which were Repronex injections. WOW, it is an intense treatment as it gets your hormones really going. We were able to get stimulation but too much. We could never find the right mix. It was either too low of a dose to get anything going or too much where all of my eggs were stimulated. The physical process is very daunting and becomes apart of your daily life. I still laugh when people would tell me that I was thinking about it too much and that was why I wasn’t getting pregnant. I laugh. I mean how could I not think about it when I was giving myself shots in the stomach two times a day.

Well looking back on a year of trying different treatments with no success it still seems physically easier then IVF. When our doctor referred us up to a doctor in Colorado Springs I knew that meant one thing. IVF. We had tried every combination of doses and new research ideas, but IVF seemed to be the next and last treatment for us. Our emotions were all over the place. We were excited to start something new, but also very rundown and not full of hope. Our hope had been shot down so many times during the last year that it was hard to be positive. I found myself having to look at life without my own children very seriously. At this point we both started talking about adoption as were uncertain of the future. We started our first round of IVF after 1-½ years of trying to conceive; I had read that once you go to IVF you are going for the big guns. I now know what that means. IVF is a strict time specific process that takes about 6 weeks all together. It is not only physically taxing, but also an emotional roller coaster; the drugs are so intense that you are in survival mode. Our first cycle of IVF ended in a cancellation, which is fairly rare! My body wasn’t responding well to the drugs and my hormones were off. We cancelled the cycle and I was sent home with a sheet explaining the possibility of ovarian hyper stimulation aka OHSS. I had been stimulated much more at one point and had not gotten OHSS so I felt like I would be fine. What I didn’t expected nor did the doctors was that my eggs were continuing to grow! With my eggs growing and the need to give the HCG interjections to induce ovulation I knew that my chances of OHSS were increased. Two days after the injection I stumbled into my doctor’s office white as ghost and a tummy that was getting bigger and bigger, OHSS involves an excess amount of water retention. Over the course of vomiting, ER visits, pain, and fever I weighed an extra 12 lbs of water by the end of three days. I was miserable! I did survive and knew that I had to give IVF another chance. I couldn’t give up on having kids without trying everything!

I gave my body two moths off and in the fall of 2008 we tried IVF again. We made it through the cycle of egg retrieval and transfer. We waited the LONG two-week to take our pregnancy test. We took a urine test in the morning and  it came out negative so we were preparing for the worst. We waited to hear our results from the blood test with much anxiety. We got the phone call from my beloved nurse and doctor who said…positive! I was pregnant and thrilled. I am now 7 months pregnant and know that  it was all worth it. I am full of so much love for this baby. I am so very grateful to have this opportunity to be pregnant! It is such a gift…I am honored to be here.. At one point I never knew if I was going to be able to have children so to be here now is such a gift that I will not take for granted. I hope that everyone out there rubs their tummy an extra time today, talks sweet nothings to their baby and loves their body for giving us the means to conceive.

The journey into parenthood is beautiful, but it can certainly have its challenges.  New articles and information will be posted on a regular basis pertaining to conception, pregnancy, birthing, and parenthood. Check back regularly for updates.

• Baby Making 101- You have decided you want to have a baby. Find resources, pertinent articles, and tips for conceiving here.
• You're Pregnant- That plus sign is just one indication of a positive pregnancy. Learn more here about pregnancy.
• Welcome Home Baby- Get ready for a whole lot of firsts! First day home, first poopy diaper, first night in their crib...and everything imaginable over the first year! Read "first-time" stories from others, understand the new family dynamics, and learn how to cope with all of the new stressors.
• About a Bump in the Road- From one bump to another, I invite you to celebrate the wonders of becoming a parent with me.

*The information contained within this site comes from several accredited resources; however, information is intended to give you insight, not all of the answers.  Please seek advice from your practitioner should you have further questions or need medical assistance.

Thank you for visiting durangobumpintheroad.com.