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Visit with your midwife or health care provider at least once before becoming pregnant. This will be the time to talk about your medical history, ask questions, and find out if any tests are recommended. This pre-conception visit is especially important if you have had major health problems or problems with a previous pregnancy. You would have to make choices about whether you would want a homebirth, birth center or hospital birth, depending on your current health and history.
Stop using birth control. If you have been using birth control pills, your midwife or health care provider can tell you how long to wait before trying to conceive. However, birth control pills will not cause birth defects, no matter how close to conception you stop using them. If you have been using an IUD, have it removed before trying to conceive. If pregnancy occurs with an IUD in place, it can be harmful. Use another method of birth control until the required time has passed as recommended by your midwife.
MoonDragon's Contraception Methods Compared
Both you and your partner should avoid smoking, drinking, and any drug use (recreational, over-the-counter, or non-health essential prescription drugs) after checking with your midwife or health care provider. If you must take a prescription medication, discuss it with your prescribing health care provider and check for safety of use during pregnancy and see if there are alternatives treatments or medications that can be substituted for what you are currently taking. Sometimes dosages can be re-adjusted for minimum benefit and maximum safety during pregnancy. Avoid alcohol, drinking caffeine to excess, and tobacco use. There is scientific evidence that all these substances, used by the mother, can cause problems with the pregnancy and even birth defects. The father needs to cease using these items to be able to have strong, viable, healthy sperm for fertilizing the ovum. If you are taking prescription, over-the-counter drugs or dietary and herbal supplements, be sure to tell your midwife or health care provider. Avoid toxic substances, chemicals, and radiation at home or at work. Exposure to these by either partner can make it more difficult to become pregnant and can harm the fetus.
Both you and your partner should ask your parents if there is a family history of problem pregnancies or birth defects. If you have reason to be concerned about a genetic disorder or inherited disease, you may want to consult a genetics specialist.
Try to achieve your normal weight before attempting to conceive. It's important not to be underweight or overweight during pregnancy. Underweight women tend to have smaller babies as well as having more problems during labor and after delivery. Overweight women are more likely to develop high blood pressure or diabetes during pregnancy. Don't diet during pregnancy, however, or while you are trying to become pregnant. Follow a healthy pregnancy diet. Take dietary and herbal supplements only recommended by your midwife or health care provider.
Make sure to get enough of the B vitamin (folic acid) on a daily basis. Suggested dosage for a non-pregnant woman is 0.4 mg. (400 mcg); and for a pregnant woman is 0.8 - 1.0 mg (800 to 1000 mcg). Studies have shown that birth defects of the spine and brain, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, can occur if the mother does not get sufficient folic acid during the first few weeks of her pregnancy. Folic acid is contained in many foods and in multivitamin supplements. Discuss it with your midwife or health care provider.
If you have diabetes, make sure it is being treated. Although women with insulin-dependent diabetes have a higher risk of miscarriage and of having a baby with a birth defect, if the blood sugar is controlled before and during pregnancy, chances for delivering a healthy baby are excellent. However, this is usually a contraindication for a homebirth.
If you have not had Rubella (German Measles), it may be advisable to be vaccinated prior to becoming pregnant. Be sure to research information about any vaccination before obtaining them. Be informed. If you do get vaccinated, you should delay trying to get pregnant for three months. You should NOT get vaccinated during pregnancy. If contracted during pregnancy, rubella can cause birth defects. Avoid children contagious with any childhood diseases if you are not immune.
Avoid eating undercooked meat or handling cat litter. These are known sources of toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can seriously affect the fetus.
SUMMARY
Follow a good nutritional program. Avoid anything that can cause health problems and mental stress. Exercise moderately and regularly. Maintain a positive lifestyle, eliminating bad habits and achieve a balanced mental-emotional state-of-being. Be spiritually centered - You do not have be religious to be spiritual since they are quite different. De-stress your life as much as possible and be loving to those around you. All of these things will go a long way towards having a healthy body, a healthy mind, and a healthy pregnancy.
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