Nurturing the Mother-To-Be: A Guide to Pre-pregnancy Care

Everybody knows the importance of prenatal care but little do you know how important is good preconception care. Good health during your childbearing years not only helps you conceive better but also has lifelong effects on your and your baby’s health.

So, if you are planning to have a baby now or in the future, it’s time for you to take prenatal health seriously. Preconception health care usually focuses on things you should do before your pregnancy. This will assure healthy conception, pregnancy, and delivery. So if it’s your first, second, or fifth pregnancy you need to follow the following essential steps.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the most important things in your childbearing years. An unhealthy weight won’t only lower your chances of conception but will make your pregnancy riskier. Unhealthy weight before and during pregnancy also affects delivery.

Studies suggest that a higher BMI can inhibit regular ovulation decreasing your fertility. Even if you ovulate regularly and have normal periods, you are likely to conceive late if you are overweight. Moreover, obese women also face more unsuccessful in-vitro fertilization (IVF). If you conceive while being overweight, the higher BMI increases the risk of miscarriage, high blood pressure, organ damage and sleep apnea.

Being underweight at your fertile age can make it harder for you to get pregnant too. A low BMI can cause your periods to be irregular or stop. Much like being overweight, being underweight before and during your pregnancy comes with the risk of miscarriages, a baby with low birth weight, and preterm birth.

Cut Out Alcohol and Smoking

If you are a regular or occasional alcohol consumer or a smoker, it’s time you cut it out. You never know when you get pregnant and alcohol and smoking can harm your baby. Drug abuse before and during your pregnancy is also a threat to your baby’s health. Alcohol, smoking and drugs are associated with premature birth, birth defects, and infant death.

Learn Your Family History

In a place like Pakistan where cousin marriage is quite common, you must learn your and your partners’ family history. Learning your family history before you conceive will help you watch out for any medical condition that may run in your family. You should know that it’s not only your health conditions that are passed onto your baby. Unfortunately, your sister’s heart disease and your uncle’s sickle cell anaemia can be passed onto your child too. It is important that you discuss your family history with your doctor and take the advised route.

Moreover, if you have been pregnant before, your previous pregnancy affects your next one. A study reveals that miscarriage, birth defects, infant death and struggle to get pregnant in your past pregnancy can elevate the risk of the same if you get pregnant again.

Stay Away From Medications

Not all medicines are safe for you to take if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy. You should not take any OTC (over-the-counter) or prescription medication without consulting your physician first. If you have a medical condition that requires continuous medication you should talk to your doctor and devise a plan of action.

Check Your Vaccination History

You need to get your vaccinations at least a month before you get pregnant. Although the evidence that vaccination during pregnancy is harmful is only theoretical. But it is always wise to stay safe so we advise you to take all your vaccination before you get pregnant. This will help you stay immune to infections during pregnancy, which could potentially harm your baby.

For instance infections like rubella aka German measles can harm your baby. You can save yourself and your baby from rubella just by getting the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination. So, it is important to see that you have gotten all your essential vaccinations.

Stay Healthy Mentally

Studies suggest that environmental stress can result in poor obstetric outcomes. Going through pregnancy and delivering a baby is no easy feat. You need to be mentally strong and prepared to do the task. Felling anxious, worried, and stressed is completely normal. But if you don’t keep this stress in check, it could potentially harm your baby.

Keep Your Nutrients In Check With Prenate

This is the most important thing you need to do, to ensure better health for yourself and your baby. Good nutrition during prenatal time is almost as important as during pregnancy. You need good nutrition not just to achieve your ideal BMI but to ensure the proper development and growth of your baby once you are pregnant.

A healthy, balanced diet is your way to go. Load on some good proteins and whole grains and skimp on saturated fats and sugars. Unfortunately, we live in a time when food has lost its potential nutritional value.

This is where vitamins like Prenate come into play. The optimal blend of 15 essential nutrients promises great health for you and your baby-to-come. It contains iron, Calcium, Vitamins A, B1, B2, C, K, B12, D, E, and Niacin among many others, ensuring the best of health for you and your baby.

Start Taking Q-Folic

Folic Acid is another essential nutrient you require in your childbearing years. Folic acid (vitamin B9) plays an essential role in the neural development of the fetus. Apart from its vital role in fetal development folic acid has various benefits for women. Folic acid deficiency can lead to neural tube defects in the baby and depression and impaired immune function in the mother.

The Q-Folic supplements give you 400mcg of activated folic acid. It promises superior absorption, higher bioavailability, & better utilization. Q-Folic can prevent your child from having neural tube defects like spina bifida and anencephaly.

FAQs

What happens if you don’t take prenatal vitamins during pregnancy?

If you don’t take effective supplements like Prenate during your pregnancy, you are likely to get a nutrient deficiency. This could potentially harm your baby’s growth and development.