P R E P A R E F O R
P R E G N A N C Y
Your No.1 Guide to Preparing for Pregnancy
SUPPLEMENTS Make sure you take a folic acid prior to conceiving for at least 6 weeks - folic acid won't help you conceive but it will help lower you risk of your baby having spina bifida. You need at least 400 mcg a day. Its good to combine this with iodine as this helps promotes healthy brain development in your baby (if you don't have an over active thyroid speak to your Doctor first before taking iodine). Fish oil or omega 3 also helps healthy brain development of your baby. You should also get your vitamin D and iron levels checked as deficiencies in these can decrease your chance of conceiving.
Lifestyle Changes quit smoking and avoid illicit drugs limit alcohol to 5 standard drinks a week exercise 30 minutes a day medidate daily to reduce stress take time to unwind have a bath, watch your favourite TV show, read a book maintain a healthy BMI (BMI over 30 lowers your chance to conceive) cut down caffeine to 1-2 cups of coffee a day eat a Mediterranean Diet it has been shown to improve fertility Avoid plastic with BPA as they are hormone disrupters
Timing start tracking your cycles time your intercourse to when you are ovulating as this improves your chances to conceive if your cycle is longer than 35 days or shorter than 25 days you nay not be ovulating see your Doctor to get a mid-luteal progesterone level done ovulation kits are very useful in detecting ovulation when you see a surge have sex that day and the next the egg lives for 24 hours and the sperm lives for 3-5 days so having sex prior to ovulation is more effective than after ovulation the position of intercourse does not matter
Pre Pregnancy Testing and Vaccinations get your prepregnancy screening bloods done to make sure you don't need a top up of your vaccines have the Flu vaccine if available get the Covid vaccination - Covid during pregnancy could result in miscarriage, preterm labour and fetal death and increases your chance of medical complications consider doing pre genetic screening to ensure you and your partner do not share genes that could affect the health of your baby check your thyroid check your vit D, iron and vit B12 check coeliac antibodies as coeliac disease can cause infertility and miscarriages make sure your cervix screen is up to date along with an STD test
When to seek help if you have been trying for 6 months please see your GP to have baseline tests including ovulation bloods, pelvic ultrasound and semen analysis and sperm antibody tests if you are over 35 see a Fertility Specialist after 6 months of trying if you are over 40 or have a low egg bank if you have a history of a gynecological condition such as fibroids, endometriosis, PCOS or an STD see a Fertility Specialist early if you have a family history of early menopause if you are having difficulty timing or having intercourse if you have a history of testicular surgery or trauma if you have a history of a genetic condition in your family
Family is important to me and my passion is help you grow yours. My focus is to empower you to make a choice and to provide you with the best treatment options at affordable prices. No.1 Fertility is Doctor Owned offering boutique personalised treatment with World Leading Technology
DR LYNN BURMEISTER MEDICAL DIRECTOR NO.1 FERTILITY
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away" MAYA ANGELOU