{"id":136,"date":"2021-03-30T10:01:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T14:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.oviahealth.com\/guide\/136\/5-best-ways-to-prepare-body-for-pregnancy\/"},"modified":"2021-10-04T23:47:42","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T03:47:42","slug":"5-best-ways-to-prepare-body-for-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.oviahealth.com\/guide\/136\/5-best-ways-to-prepare-body-for-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Five of the best ways you can prepare your body for pregnancy right now"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’re hoping for a pregnancy<\/a> in your future, learning more about your fertility and tracking your data are some great first steps toward trying to conceive.<\/p>\n

How to help prepare your body for pregnancy<\/h2>\n

Even before you conceive, there’s a lot\u00a0you can do to help prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy. These five tips center around living a healthy lifestyle and keeping your body in good shape – so some of these tips can also be helpful in improving your fertility health!<\/p>\n

1. Exercise<\/h3>\n

Establishing a diverse exercise\u00a0routine will improve your cardiovascular endurance and help strengthen your core, which will make it easier to adjust to a growing body (and probably come in pretty handy during labor too). Starting an exercise regimen while TTC also\u00a0ensures that you won’t be scrambling to find an\u00a0exercise program that works for you after finding out you’re pregnant.<\/p>\n

2. Stretch<\/h3>\n

Feel the burn! Stretching is good exercise, particularly when using resistance, and it has\u00a0additional\u00a0benefits when you\u2019re preparing for pregnancy. Muscle aches and pains are\u00a0pretty common among pregnant women, and\u00a0stretching can help keep you loose and limber.<\/p>\n

3. Take a prenatal vitamin<\/h3>\n

Many\u00a0healthcare providers recommend that women begin a prenatal or multivitamin regimen while they’re trying to conceive. This is both to help boost fertility and to ensure that\u00a0you’re getting all of the nutrients\u00a0you’ll need during early pregnancy.<\/p>\n

For instance, pregnant women need about 600 mcg of folic acid a day. Because\u00a0your body uses that folic acid for some very important tasks very early on in pregnancy (it helps the neural tube close properly at around week six), it\u2019s a good idea to make sure your folic acid intake is sufficient even in the weeks and months before you conceive. Prenatal vitamins are a great source of folic acid, but most multivitamins have an ample amount as well.\u00a0Make sure to speak with your healthcare provider about what they recommend for nutritional supplementation before pregnancy.<\/p>\n

4. Cut down on alcohol and caffeine<\/h3>\n

Because\u00a0there is no universally agreed-upon \u201csafe\u201d amount of alcohol or caffeine during pregnancy, many healthcare providers recommend abstaining from alcohol and limiting caffeine (most research indicates that up to 200 mg of caffeine each day is probably safe). The idea of saying goodbye to wine or coffee once pregnant might be tough, so it might be a good idea to get a jump on\u00a0things by cutting back now – and it will help your fertility too!<\/p>\n

5. Eat a nutritious, balanced diet<\/h3>\n

Nourishing your body with nutritious foods is crucial during pregnancy. It helps your baby develop properly,\u00a0paces your weight gain, and\u00a0can contribute to reducing some\u00a0symptoms. If you think your diet might be a bit less balanced\u00a0than it could be, you can use your TTC time to transition into a more healthy diet overall, complete with plenty of lean meats, fruits, and vegetables \u2014 which will fuel your body so that it can\u00a0perform at its peak before, during, and after pregnancy.<\/p>\n

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Read more<\/h5>\n