If you're having dreams of a wee babe in your future, and want to maximize your fertility right now, follow these personal body prep tips:
1. Take a multivitamin: Even if you eat healthy, you may be lacking enough
folic acid (many women are). While folic acid alone doesn't increase fertility or guarantee baby making success, the benefits will kick in when you conceive. Folic acid protects your baby from neural tube defects, making
folic acid a must for any women considering conception.
2. Repeat after me, "Sperm is my baby making friend": And as such, you don't want sperm to feel rejected, right? Keep your vagina free of artificial douches, cleaning products, and weird gels. All of the above can change your vaginal pH, which in turn may kill off your sperm pals. Your vagina is a handy dandy self cleaning instrument anyhow, plain old daily water cleansing and maybe a pH balanced soap is all you need.
3. Cut back on most of your brew: Caffeine and alcohol can both be problematic for conception if you overdo them. Keep your caffeine intake low; a few drinks a day. Keep alcohol intake down to 3 or fewer drinks a day.
4. Know your BMI: A normal, mid-range body mass index of 20-26 is noted as being the best baby making BMI. If you're under or over,
change your diet, change your
exercise routine, and talk to your health care provider about it before trying to conceive.
Learn your BMI here.
5. Quit smoking: Smoking is not good for your general health (but we all know that). Smoking is also not a good get pregnant tool. Current research says that smoke can actually make you lose healthy eggs at an earlier age. Also note that if your male partner smokes, it can reduce his sperm quality as well. Couples trying to have a baby should both
quit smoking.
