As someone who’s planning to become a parent, optimizing your health pre-pregnancy is crucial. Not only does proper preconception care increase chances of having a healthy pregnancy and giving birth to a healthy child. It also helps the mother protect her baby for life and ensure good future health of her little one.
During this life-altering experience, you will find a lot of useful advice out there. However, it’s important that you get accurate information when looking for answers to your questions. This is important because it will help you make well-informed decisions and prepare yourself for pregnancy the right way. With that in mind, here is a list of five innovative pre-pregnancy ways to protect your baby for life.
Visit your doctor for prenatal care checkups
A big part of preparing for parenthood is making sure that you are physically ready to get pregnant. This is the first step in your pregnancy journey, and it involves scheduling a prenatal care checkup with your doctor. These checkups are important for a number of reasons.
For starters, they allow the doctor to monitor your health, and later on, the health of your unborn baby. They also make it easier to identify any health issues and treat them early on. Getting prenatal care also decreases the risk of complications such as low birth weight and ensures a safe, healthy pregnancy.
Get informed about the latest preventative procedures
Sometimes, protecting your baby for life will mean taking preventative steps that will give you peace of mind later on. One such procedure is called cord blood banking, and it’s a innovative method that more parents are becoming interested in.
The procedure involves collection of umbilical cord blood which contains stem cells that are valuable for mother and the baby. These cells are then stored in cord blood banks and preserved for future medical or therapeutic use. By taking this preventative step, parents can make sure that, if the need for these stem cells arises, they can rely on these banks to prevent certain illnesses or help the child recover, thus ensuring their child’s future health.
Ensure proper prenatal nutrition
In order for you to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby, it is important that you adopt healthy eating habits long before conceiving. This is referred to as prenatal nutrition, and it plays a vital role in the healthy development of your baby.
To ensure a healthy pregnancy, focus on eating fatty fish and nuts which are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Also, incorporate foods such as tomatoes – they are known for their numerous health benefits and are rich sources of antioxidants. Make sure to accompany them with prenatal vitamins that contain essential nutrients such as iron, calcium, and folic acid. Foods containing saturated fat, sodium, and sugar are best to be avoided, and the same goes for fish containing high levels of mercury.
Prepare yourself mentally for your pregnancy journey
Pregnancy can be tough not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. It’s a time of change, and a big transition, and the parent’s life will never be the same after it. To prepare for the journey of motherhood, do your best to prepare yourself mentally.
Ask yourself why you want to become a parent, and how your daily life will change once the baby arrives. You should also do your best to educate yourself about pregnancy. Sometimes, this will mean obtaining a PALS certification and learning life-saving techniques in case a child or infant-related emergency arises. Finally, you’ll need to evaluate your life and see whether you’re really ready to have a baby. This will involve observing factors such as physical support, financial stability, mental agility, and of course, the parents’ overall health.
Maintain a healthy weight and eliminate bad habits before conceiving
Last but not least, as a future parent, you want to make sure that you’re getting enough physical activity. Not only does daily exercise keep your weight in check, but it also offers many physical and mental health benefits. These include improved mood, higher energy levels, and better sleep. Consult with your doctor about a healthy body weight and do your best to maintain it before conceiving.
This is also the right time to eliminate any bad habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol. They’re known to increase risk of certain birth defects and developmental disabilities, so make sure to steer clear of them. Finally, when you decide to conceive is also important. Ideally, it’ll be when you’re feeling your healthiest self. This will increase the chances of your pregnancy being a healthy one.
Wrapping up
Optimizing preconception health is an essential step in your pregnancy journey as it helps ensure that your pregnancy is a safe and healthy one. Follow these tips while you’re still in the planning stage and you’ll help protect your future baby’s health for life.
About the author
Stephen Jones
I am a freelance writer and father. I enjoy writing about health, food, nutrition, and children’s health for other parents. Freelance writing has always been my passion along with fitness so I combined the two and hopes to be able to share my passion with others! Facebook Twitter