5 Tips on Pre-Pregnancy Care

 Pregnancy is an exciting phase in one’s life. From getting your pregnancy kit test results to the final delivery, you will go through several changes. Welcoming a new member to your family requires a lot of preparation and care. While you might take care of yourself during pregnancy, the real efforts start way before that. The health, immunity and allergies of the parents get transferred to the offspring through DNA so there are chances that the parents can pass down much more than just diseases. Since it takes at least three months for cells to be regenerated, your pre-pregnancy care should start 3–4 months prior. Below are the best 5 tips on pre-conception care that will help you in your planning.

5 Tips on Pre-Pregnancy Care-

1. Track your Cycle — The first step in getting pregnant is to know when you are ovulating. You can track your menstrual cycle or check out physical symptoms such as breast tenderness, cramping, vaginal discharge, increase in basal body temperature and other such signs. Apart from these signs, you can also take an easy at home ovulation test to be sure. Your fertility window is the time when your chances of getting pregnant is higher.

2. Schedule an Appointment with your Doctor — A healthy body will lead to a healthy pregnancy. To know that you are healthy and ready to conceive is to get a checkup with your doctor. The checkup will help in identifying any maternal risks like cysts, hormonal imbalance or if there is any problem with the reproductive system. The gynecologist will prescribe you medicines in case of any complications.

3. Maintain a Healthy Diet — Your diet should include a variety of healthy foods as it is essential to maintain a healthy diet for a healthy pregnancy. It should be rich in carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, proteins. Also keep yourself hydrated. Avoid consumption of processed foods as it can lead to diabetes and obesity. Quit smoking and intake of alcohol and caffeine as it is not good for your health. To make up for the vitamins, doctor also recommend taking folic acid.

4. Get Regular Exercise — It is beneficial to keep up with your regular exercise as it helps in maintaining optimal weight, reduces stress and makes you feel good throughout pregnancy. Obesity leads to diabetes and high blood pressure and having health conditions can affect the health of baby. You should exercise at least 20–30 minutes for three times per week.

5. Decrease Stress — Keep your stress in check because it can cause problems while conceiving. Cortisol, a hormone that is released when you are stressed, can cause cushing syndrome. It leads to reduced concentration and libido, depression, weight gain and thin skin. In men, excess of stress can lead to low testosterone and reduced sperm count. Sleep on time, take a hobby to de-stress yourself and try not to stress yourself.

These are some of the tips that you can follow to have a healthy pregnancy. Consult your doctor for pre-natal care as they will address any issue related to pregnancy and will help you out. To confirm your pregnancy, you can take test with Pregakem’s pregnancy detection kit or any other digital pregnancy test kit.

Track Your Ovulation Window If You are Planning to Conceive

 Are you planning to conceive? The best way is to track your ovulation. An ovulation monitor will help you know your fertility window where your chances of getting pregnant are higher. Ovulation tracking helps in family planning and there are various ways to track your ovulation. Read the article to know all about it.

What is Ovulation?

Halfway through your menstrual cycle one of your ovaries releases a mature egg. This egg travels to the fallopian tube waiting to be fertilized by the sperm. The lining of the uterus becomes thicker too, ready for the implantation of the fertilized egg. Ovulation lasts for 12 to 48 hours but you can potentially be fertile up to 7 days after the egg is released. Generally, women start ovulating from between days 11 and 21 of your menstrual cycle. Your fertile window starts five days before ovulation, the day of ovulation and the days after ovulation.

Signs of Ovulation -

There are physical symptoms that you can look out for as a sign of ovulating. Some of them are-

· Breast Tenderness

· Cramping

· Bloating

· Light Spotting

· Increased Libido

· Slight pain on one side of abdomen

Different Methods to Track your Ovulation -

Tracking your ovulation is helpful if you are trying to conceive. Below are different methods that you can try to track your ovulation.

1. Check Your Basal Body Temperature — Your basal body temperature is the temperature you have to take first thing in the morning without getting out of bed. Use a basal body thermometer as it is more sensitive than the regular thermometer. Your temperature slightly rises by 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit when you are ovulating. Check your temperature consistently up to ovulation. You will see a rise in your temperature.

2. The Calendar Method — The old-school easy method of tracking your ovulation is marking your calendar. Your menstrual cycle starts from the first day of your period till your next day of period. Your cycle can vary from 21–35 days. You should at least track your cycle for 6 months to get accurate data. This method will not be advisable if you experience irregular periods.

3. Ovulation Predictor Kits — Home check ovulation test kits are the easiest way to predict your ovulation period. They work just like a home pregnancy test kit available at different prices but instead of detecting your hCG hormone in your urine, the ovulation kit looks for luteinizing hormone. A rise in LH indicates that your ovulation will start within 12 to 36 hours. It means you are fertile and is a good time to have sex for the couple of days, if you are trying to conceive. This method won’t work if you have irregular periods or PCOS.

Tracking your ovulation using any of these methods will help you conceive but it might not work if you have irregular periods. You can also check Pregakem’s ovulation calculator to track your ovulation accurately. Apart from this, it is also advised to schedule your pre-conception appointment with your doctor as they will be able to guide you better and clear your doubts.