Thinking of trying to conceive?  To maximise your chances of having a healthy baby, start planning for conception at least 3 months beforehand.  Not only will this make conception easier, it will also help you have a healthy baby with no birth defects. Some good ideas to get started are listed below.

See your GP:

• Have a pap smear
• Explore getting immunized against chicken pox. Contracting chicken pox not only puts you at risk during pregnancy, it can also cause serious birth defects.
• Get your immunity for Rubella checked. While most women where immunised against Rubella at school, by the time you decide to have a baby your immunity might be low. Your GP can check this by doing a simple blood test and immunise you again if you need it.  However, if you have had a rubella shot, you should wait at least 3 months before conceiving.

Increase chances of conception by:

• Stopping smoking – both you and your partner
• Reduce your alcohol intake
• Adopt some natural holistic treatments to prime your body for conception

Take Vitamin Supplements:

• Take at least 500mg of folic acid a day.  This is particularly important in the 12 weeks leading up to conception as well as the 12 weeks following conception. Why?  Folic Acid reduces the risks of  developing neural tube defects that could affect the development of your baby’s brain and spine.  Folic acid can also be found in brocoli and in green leafy vegetables such as spinach.
• Start charting your your menstrual cycle so you start to understand the most likely times when you are ovulating.

See your dentist:

• Have your much needed check-up befor you start trying to conceive.  Remember, x-rays are not advised when you are pregnant so why not get checked out sooner rather than later.

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