Are you trying to conceive a child? What you consume counts even before the bread is baked. The appropriate pre pregnancy diet can help you not only get pregnant but also have a healthy baby (and help you have a healthier, more comfortable pregnancy). Check out these pre pregnancy diet ideas to get you on the right track before you start trying to conceive.
If you’re attempting to conceive, you might want to reconsider your current eating habits (for one). That’s because your pre pregnancy diet — even if it’s still in the planning phases — can have an incredible impact on your baby-making attempts.
What are some of the many advantages of a good pre-pregnancy diet?
A healthier menstrual cycle (easier to track when it’s time to fertilise that egg), a healthier pregnancy (plus a more comfortable one), and a healthier baby-to-be (who’s more likely to grow up to be a healthier adult) are all possibilities.
Have you been eating well? Then all you’ll need is a pre pregnancy diet tune-up (good eating throughout the preconception phase isn’t that different from any other healthy eating plan).
Are you not eating well, or are you eating badly?
True, you’ll have your work cut out for you in terms of preconception preparation (at least in the food sector), but consider this: By the time your baby arrives, you’ll have already adopted baby-friendly eating habits.
Early Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms
Not sure how to change your diet to make it more of a pre pregnancy diet? Simply divide your efforts into five simple steps:
Commit to change.
Committing to changing your eating habits is the first step toward changing your habits. But, of course, knowing exactly what you’re committing to and why is also beneficial. The why, well, that’s pretty self-explanatory (you want to make the healthiest baby possible, as quickly as possible).
- What it is, well, that is debatable—trying to get from a zero (a lot of fries) to a ten (a lot of vegetables)? You’ll have to put in a lot of effort to improve the quality of your food.
- Are you attempting to lose weight? (Excess weight can affect fertility.) Then you’ll have to focus on quantity (less) and quality (more) (better). You are trying to overcome an eating disorder that’s disrupting your cycles (and making conception difficult)? Quantity (presumably higher) and quality (likely better) will be critical components of your preconception eating plan once again.
- Are you wondering when you should start, too? That is also dependent on the amount of work you have ahead of you. Allow yourself at least three months to change old food habits (and drinking habits, including those five-shot lattes) and form new ones; allow yourself more time if you need to lose or gain a large amount of weight before you start trying to conceive.
- Suppose your dietary issues are significant (such as reducing a considerable amount of weight, conquering an eating disorder, or gaining control of your diabetes).
- In that case, you may wish to include a “who” in the equation: a doctor, dietician, and therapist who can assist you in overcoming them. It’s the same if you have particular dietary requirements (a vegan, have food allergies, or have PKU). The more “who”s there are, the better: You might find it beneficial to connect with other would-be mothers who are encountering similar issues (on an online message board or in a local support group), so you can gain empathy and encouragement you’ll need along the road.
- If you and your partner both need to reduce weight and improve their eating habits (his sperm are also affected by what he eats), do so together… Team Baby is on the move!
Get rid of junk food.
Even the most dedicated health-foodists may find it difficult to say no to a gooey candy bar, a mound of hot-from-the-fryer fries, or a diet-killing chocolate cake. However, avoiding refined carbs (cookies, doughnuts, cake, white bread, bagels, and other sugary snacks), sugary snacks (candy and soda), and saturated fats (fries, chips, greasy fast-food burgers) can aid the baby caused by regulating ovulation (making it easier to conceive). That’s because quick digestion of simple carbs (the things junk food is made of) causes a spike in blood sugar, which causes an increase in insulin, which can upset the delicate balance of reproductive hormones essential for reproduction.
So now you know what you shouldn’t eat, but what’s left on the menu now that you’ve eliminated all the junk stuff from your pre pregnancy diet?
Instead, try these better-for-you, better-for-baby-making selections for the best preconception results:
- — Calcium-fortified drinks, almonds, sesame seeds, green leafy vegetables, tofu, and other soy products, as well as dairy products (milk, cheese, and yoghurt) should be included in your pre pregnancy diet. Eating calcium-rich foods now can help ensure the healthy functioning of your reproductive system (the better for baby-making) as well as help you stock up on this vital nutrient, which is good for both your bones and those of your unborn child
- . — Lean protein-rich foods such as skinless chicken, eggs (choose the omega-3 version), lean cuts of beef, pig, buffalo, fish (avoid mercury-rich varieties), and shellfish. What’s the point of leaning on lean? Because saturated fats (such as those present in marbled meat) might harm fertility. Some research suggests that replacing one portion of animal protein with a plant protein, such as quinoa or beans, can help your baby-making efforts. Just be careful not to overdo the protein (as you could on a high-protein diet), as too much of a good thing might potentially cause reproductive issues.
- — Leafy greens (collard, kale, spinach), lean meat and buffalo, peas, dried apricots, and oatmeal are also good sources of iron. Women who acquire iron deficiency anaemia experience interruptions in their menstrual periods, and messed-up cycles make it far more difficult to conceive.
- — Complex carbs like brown rice, whole grains, and whole-wheat bread — help keep insulin levels stable and reproductive hormones in check, as well as provide a healthy dose of folic acid, the most pre pregnancy of all nutrients.
- — Fruits and vegetables, especially those with vibrant colours (berries, mangoes, cantaloupe, carrots, sweet potatoes, red peppers, green leafy). These vegetable beauties are packed in antioxidants, so they’re essential for your baby-making endeavour. (Note to your partner: Healthy fats like those found in canola, olive, and flaxseed oil, avocados, almonds, and seeds make sperm move faster.) So for the sake of fertility, choose them over saturated fats as much as feasible (and for the sake of your health). Omega-3 fatty acids are one to pay special attention to. Nuts (particularly walnuts), flaxseed, salmon, and omega-3 eggs are all excellent sources of omega-3.
