Pregnancy: How to prepare for your pregnancy (I)

Many women discover they are pregnant before being able to really prepare for this step, but there are also couples who plan their pregnancy and can really take all the measures important for them. If this is your case, here are some of the things to do BEFORE you start trying to conceive:

1. Find out about your family’s medical history

There are many genetic diseases or just illnesses that can appear from generation to generation. Before you start planning to have a baby, make sure you know everything about your family and your partner’s relatives. In most cases these diseases won’t make you change your mind about becoming a mother, but it’s important to know if there is anything in your family’s history that might bring in some issues down the road.

Having someone in your family who suffers from Down Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy or Hemophilia are reasons enough for your doctor to be extra careful with everything that happens during your pregnancy.

2. Get yourself a GREAT ObGyn

Ideally, you should start trying to conceive only AFTER you had a thorough gynecological exam and also other tests/consults, to clear out any possible health issues and make sure you are 100% ready for this huge step for you and your body.

This means getting to a very good gynecologist, who’ll help solve any medical problems you might face now and also do all the checkups during your pregnancy. Make sure you find someone reliable and good, a doctor whom you trust entirely and who’s the best pick for your entire pregnancy.

If you don’t trust or feel comfortable with a doctor, you should find a better one now, not when you’re already pregnant and stressing out as it is. Such decisions should be made right now, since an excellent doctor is one of the best assets for your and your spouse during the 9 months that will follow.

3. Tests, consults, the works

Now that you already have an amazing ObGyn at your disposal, make sure to schedule a consult to have your health checked. You’ll have a full gynecological consult (Pap smear, pelvic exam etc.), which will help disclose any problems you might have. Now it’s the time for any procedure, for medication and anything your doctor feels important to get your reproductive organs up to speed for what’s to come.

It’s also important to have other exams/consults, even blood work, depending on what your doctor considers important. If there is any medical concern after these tests, your doctor has plenty of time to prescribe medication or advise you to have the needed procedures.

Most of the times, once you have dealt with this, you can go and have a safe and healthy pregnancy.

4. Teeth, procedures, surgery – do them before the pregnancy, not during it

If your teeth need some work, plan this before you become pregnant. While a lot of the procedures are safe for a pregnant woman, let’s say you’ll have enough on your plate as it is to handle even more stress and pain. Same thing with surgeries or any procedures: solve all your medical problems NOW and then you’ll have to focus only on your pregnancy and not worry about it.

In the next article we’ll present you more of the things you should have in mind, before starting to conceive.

Pregnancy: How to prepare for your pregnancy (II)