If you want to become pregnant, or have been trying for some time, there are several ways to set yourself up for success. As a Midwife and Fertility and Pregnancy support therapist, there are some tips I recommend to clients to help prepare the body, mind, and soul for a successful pregnancy.
Clean up your diet
When preparing for pregnancy, the first thing to do is remove unhealthy foods from your diet and add healthy options. If you look at it that a gardener always gets the soil as nourished as it can be before she plants precious seeds—the healthier the soil, the more vibrantly those seeds will grow. Our bodies are similar: the healthier we are physically before pregnancy, the better the environment to maintain a healthy pregnancy. Eat as much organic, hormone-free, plant based, whole foods that nourish you.
Support your gut
Nutritionist Elissa Goodman recommends that you take 50 to 80-billion-count probiotics, 4 to 8 ounces of aloe vera1, and 1,500 mg of L-Glutamine daily for a few months pre-pregnancy.
Eat warm foods
Fertility foods include warming foods for the system and include lentil soup, or stir-fried veggies and brown rice with ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, and nutmeg). The holistic thinking is that a warm uterus is better for fertility.
Nourish your body
Boost your chances of becoming pregnant by drinking a fertility smoothie and taking supplements. Try these recipes for fertility-boosting smoothie. It’s also great to ensure you’re getting enough folic acid or folate (see what the difference is HERE) for at least three months before conceiving to help reduce the risk of neural tube defects like spina bifida.
Try stretching to open, nourish and relax your reproductive organs
Stretches that open the hips and support an increased blood flow to the abdominal and pelvic organs is ideal when wanting to conceive and nourish the uterus in pregnancy. Going to regular Preparation for birth classes is an ideal way to get these movements in regularly during your pregnancy.
De-stress and decompress
Stress can wreak havoc on your body by boosting cortisol levels, which can suppress ovulation and decrease sperm count and sex drive. Stress also tightens your body, which can stagnate energy and constrict blood flow Things to help you manage your stress:
- Practice stretches
- Meditate
- Breathing exercises
- Visualization
- Massage
- Relax in nature
- Sleep
- Seek support
- Exercise
- Journal
- Read
- Take a relaxing bath
Make space in your life
Wanting to have a baby means adding something more to your life. When our lives are too full, there is no room for anything new to enter. Too much space can make a person feel anxious, so we tend to busy ourselves with things that are no longer resonating or that we outgrew so we don’t have to feel the discomfort that empty space brings. It’s only by allowing for this space that something new can be birthed.
Energetically become pregnant
A wonderful way I’ve found to prepare someone for pregnancy is for them to act as though they already are. Often, I’ve found that women will take better care of themselves during pregnancy for their baby’s sake. I always ask people: “If you were pregnant right now, what would you be doing differently?” Whatever they answer back is what I tell them to start doing.
Consider regular Reflexology
Reflexology is a wonderful way to get your body ready for pregnancy. Not only can reflexology improve the condition of the body to receive sperm and fertilise her egg it also increases blood flow to the uterus and reproductive organs. It has the added benefit of decreasing your stress levels which is key making a baby should be an enjoyable experience, not a stressful one.
Change those negative thoughts into positive ones
People with the best intentions will project their thoughts or stories onto you. I have seen countless women shut down their bodies from thinking that they were too old, or it would be hard to get pregnant and have spent many hours helping them undo this toxic thinking. Our minds are powerful, so watch those thoughts! Turn negative thoughts into positive affirmations, for example: My body is strong and healthy for pregnancy, or my body is ready for pregnancy. Put them up them all over your house where you can see, read, and absorb them daily.
Trust divine timing
There is nothing more frustrating than wanting something so badly and it not happening when you want it to. For some, getting pregnant happens right away and for others it takes some time. All beings have their own divine timing; just because you are ready to have a baby doesn’t mean that this child is ready to come into this world just yet. When you can surrender and trust that is will happen when the timing is right for you, you understand that there is a reason things don’t always happen when you want. In time, answers will always be revealed.
Have Sex
That’s right! Sex and self-pleasure – masturbation – keeps the energy in your sacral chakra (reproductive area) moving and open and increases your chances of conceiving in your window of fertility.
Take the pressure off by carving out a BIG window of trying time
As I said before, not all women get pregnant on the first try. If you count on that one window and it doesn’t happen the first month, nor the next month, it tends to start an emotional downward spiral, which constricts your energy. I recommend carving a window for trying anywhere you feel good about, from 4 to 12 months. After that period, you can always open a new window of time for a different path of trying. It takes the pressure off and expands your energy.
Patch up your relationship and heal your childhood wounds
If there are problems in your relationship, having a baby will just add salt to the wounds. Patch up what needs fixing before your baby comes, as your relationship with your partner will set the bar for your child’s relationships down the road. We all have issues from childhood that shaped us into the people we are today—some good and some not so good…If we aren’t aware of our own wounds, we might unconsciously try to fix our childhood through our children.
Know your cycle
When you track your cycle, always start on the first day of your period, which is Day 1. If you have a 28-day cycle, the fertile window is normally two weeks before your next suspected period, so that would be around day fourteen. This is changeable for women with shorter or longer cycles so it is good to research this a little more. I recommend Maise Hills’ book Period Power.
Establish a good exercise routine
Ideally pre-pregnancy is the right a time to start a new exercise routine, but you can start around 12 weeks doing a gentle program such as preparation for birth classes. So don’t be afraid to try something new or start working out for the first time all together. Not only does exercise give you more energy and reduce your stress, but it also helps you sleep better which are all important benefits when you’re trying to conceive.
Visit your doctor and get a full check-up
You should be up to date with your smear test and also ask for a breast check or make sure you are checking yourself or any changes . You can also ask for a blood test to check Vitamin, D, Vitamin B12 and iron levels. If you chose to vaccinate, make sure you’re up to date on your vaccines. Checking in with your medical practitioner will help you have a health baseline for future pregnancy plans.
