Having kids is a big decision. If you’re looking to bring your first child into the world, you’ll join over 3.5 million women who give birth annually. And like those women, you’ll have a lot of decisions to make about getting ready for the pregnancy and the experience of life with a newborn baby.
To get ready for the 37-40 weeks of being pregnant, there are a number of things you should do to prepare for the changes you’re going to experience. Let’s try to help by examining the changes you can expect during pregnancy and what you should know to be ready for the experience.
If you live in the Lake Mary, Florida, area and you’re trying to get pregnant, Dr. Christopher Quinsey and our dedicated team can help with the process before, during, and after.
Before we even get to what you should be doing before you get pregnant, let's look at what your body will go through to bring your child into the world:
The rush of hormones make physical changes in your breasts, cervix and uterus to get ready for baby.
Your sense of taste and smell undergo changes as well, leading to changes in foods you enjoy and how sensitive your nose is to scents.
Your body produces more blood to prepare for your child, which means you need to eat foods rich in iron. It also creates more work for your urinary system.
Obviously, you can expect to add weight, which means retaining more water as well as the development of the baby.
In addition to the changes in diet, you’ll also be dealing with nausea, vomiting, constipation, and heartburn.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Changes in your hair, nails, skin, muscles, joints, and other parts of the body will be part of your pregnancy.
Here are some tips you can use to get your body ready so you have a healthy pregnancy:
This is obvious, but important as you’ll need to have the best chances of fertilizing your eggs during sex. Contrary to popular belief, you can get pregnant mere days after getting off birth control, so you don’t have to wait too long to start trying.
If you’ve been trying to get pregnant and not having any success, we can discuss your options and give you workable solutions to help you have a child.
Learn when you ovulate so you know to when you have sex to get pregnant. Modern technology has provided apps, ovulation predictor strips, and a specialized thermometer that you can use for basal body temperature charting.
Your well-being is vital to your child’s development, so anything you can do to reduce stress in your life will help to make your pregnancy a lot easier, as well as affect your monthly cycle and fertility.
Maintaining a healthy weight has many benefits, and even more so when you’re pregnant. Issues with being overweight or underweight each carry their own problems. Try for 30 minutes of exercise daily to ensure you’re healthy before getting pregnant.
Another factor in controlling your weight is watching what you eat. Control the amount and quality of the food you eat and learn what your ideal weight should be to target it before getting pregnant. Avoid processed foods and include lean proteins and fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet.
Eliminating bad lifestyle choices like smoking can not only help your health, but prevent complications during pregnancy for your child.
There are many other things you can do to get ready for your bundle of joy, but these seven tips are a solid place to start. If you have any questions or concerns about what you should be doing to prepare for a child, make an appointment with Dr. Quinsey today.
