Pregnancy Planning1,2
It is an exciting experience to plan your family. However, it is important to understand that it takes time to conceive. On an average, it can take up to 4 months or more for a healthy couple to conceive. It has been observed that a healthier lifestyle improves the chances of you getting pregnant. Therefore, it is advisable to adopt a healthy lifestyle at least three months prior to planning a pregnancy.
See below some suggestions for lifestyle changes that can be implemented to create your brand new routine. Put into action pregnancy planning and prepare for this exciting new phase in your life! It’s a wonderful journey….
It’s a great time for your husband to clean up his lifestyle too! Both women and men will benefit from a healthy diet and lifestyle modifications to improve fertility and increase your chances of conceiving naturally.
Optimising the health of both female and male partners before and during pregnancy can improve fertility and pregnancy outcomes. There are many aspects of health that can be addressed, including lifestyle factors (smoking cessation, increasing exercise), maintaining a healthy body mass index (BMI), and ensuring adequate nutrition, either through diet or supplementation, of essential micronutrients, including vitamins and minerals.2
Vitamins are chemically unrelated families of organic compounds that are essential in small amounts for normal metabolism. As humans cannot synthesise most vitamins and minerals (except vitamin D), these need to be ingested in the diet to prevent disorders of metabolism. It is important that you become knowledgeable about the healthiest diet for yourself and your husband when you are planning a pregnancy. You can also speak with your doctor or pharmacist who might suggest you take a supplement such as Elevit Pronatal to give you that extra boost in essential vitamins and micronutrients.3
Elevit Pronatal3
Elevit Pronatal has been specially formulated with 12 vitamins, 3 minerals and 4 trace elements that are formulated to meets the needs of who are planning to get pregnant, who are already pregnant AND who are breastfeeding. Elevit Pronatal should be taken before pregnancy, in order to ensure an adequate supply of vital substances at the start of pregnancy. The active substances contained in Elevit Pronatal are dosed in such a way that they also ensure a supply to mother and child even when a balanced diet is not always guaranteed.
Ovulation1,4
Learn about your reproductive cycle, your reproductive health and your most fertile time. Many couples don’t know that there is only a short window in which a woman can conceive each cycle.
Days 1–7 of the menstrual cycle is a bleeding phase and an infertile period when it is assumed that there is no egg is present for fertilization. From the 8th to the 19th day, the chances of ovulation are considerably high; hence this phase is termed the “fertile phase”. The chances of conception and getting pregnant are higher in the fertile phase. From day 20 onwards, infertility is assumed to resume. However, women with irregular or longer cycles could still be in their fertility window during this period.
This is what the fertility cycle looks like, but remember, we are all unique individuals and there is variation between each one of us.
Monitoring Ovulation
Fertility tests all aim to pinpoint the best time to try falling pregnant. Monitoring your ovulation is the best way to work out when you are most fertile. Knowledge and timing are everything!
Ovulation Tests/kits
This consists of a series of test strips which are used to detect the surge in a chemical known as luteinizing hormone in the urine just before ovulation. A woman can easily take up this test at home and identify her fertile days.
Ovulation Apps/calculators
Women are turning to technology to keep track of their menstrual cycle and their fertility. Ovulation applications are easily available on the internet: check out the app store on your smart phone. You simply enter details of your menstrual cycle (beginning of your last menstrual cycle, your first day of bleeding, the duration of your menstrual cycle etc.), and the app does the rest….predicting when you are most fertile. They are a good guide to understanding your fertility and maximizing your ovulation window but remember always to seek the advice and guidance of your doctor.
Ovulation Monitors
These are wearable monitors, which you can wear it to bed each night and they notify you when your fertile phase is. While you are quietly sleeping, your body temperature is being monitored. They allow you to track your fertility directly on your phone.
All this technology is amazing but Mother Nature always wins in the end. Get on your pre-pregnancy planning, address your lifestyle and together with your husband and family make some positive changes together for a brand new start and a brand new family.
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