Preconception Advice

If you are thinking about getting pregnant in the near future, some preconception advice is to get your body right for conception before you actually conceive.

For women, it pays to visit your GP for a general health check up. Women should also start taking folic acid supplements and make dietary adjustments so the food consumed contains lots of folate. This supplement is crucial in the pre-conception and conception phases as it helps prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida developing in your unborn baby.

Now would also be a good time to start thinking about stopping habits such as smoking and at the very least limiting your alcohol and caffeine consumption. Smoking more than 10 cigarettes a day can reduce your chances of conceiving by half. A high intake of caffeine can stop a fertilised egg from implanting into the uterus. So the best advice is plan your conception and start off the way you would mean to if you were pregnant.

More preconception advice can be obtained on our home page.