Pre conception care
Preconception Care
The idea of preconception care centres around the idea of giving your baby the best possible start. It is also about conceiving consciously and laying the foundations for a wonderfully healthy pregnancy and positive preparation for giving birth.
A study conducted in 1995 by Foresight showed that if both parents can improve their general health and avoid some common lifestyle factors and environmental hazards in the months preceding conception they can greatly improve reproductive outcomes and improve the future health of their child.
(Foresight – The British Association for the Promotion of Preconception Care)
The thing most people find difficult with preconception care is the time you are advised to ‘wait’ before trying to conceive – and I understand this, after all once you decide to have a baby, often you want to conceive now!
However, the time of the programme – usually about 4 months – is suggested with good reason:
• It takes up to 116 days to make new sperm
• Eggs take about 100 days to mature, and during this time they need a degree of protection
• It often takes 3 months to start getting cycles regular and balanced
If you can think about this, you can see that is why I recommend doing your preconception care for 4 months before trying to conceive.
Using a naturopathic approach my goals during preconception care are to
• Improve your overall general health and energy
• Enhance your fertility by working on the function and balance of your reproductive system. This includes regulating your cycle, balancing hormones, dealing with specific issues such as PMT and dysmenorrhoea, and improving libido! I work on looking after ovaries, eggs and sperm focusing on quality, function and protection.
• Treat specific conditions which can impact fertility such as endometriosis, PCOS, infections.
• Elevate your nutritional status before you become pregnant as your body requires a good store of nutrients to support a healthy pregnancy and to support breastfeeding
• Educate you about great nutrition, which will not only prepare you for pregnancy but support you during pregnancy as well
• I use my experience as a doula and childbirth educator to work through past birth history that may effect this pregnancy on both a physical and emotional level.
My practice philosophy is based around a concept I hold of “nourish and nurture”. Treatments are a combination of
• Nutrition and nutritional supplementation
• Herbal Medicine
• Homeopathy and flower essences
• Lifestyle and environmental factors
• Emotional support
If possible, it is great when both partners embark on their preconception together – it’s one of the very first things you can do as parents! You can then also support one another in making changes to improve the wellbeing of both of you and therefore, your family. And when you do conceive, it is during an optimal time in your cycle and is conscious - a lovely way to welcome your baby into your lives.
If you are planning to have a baby using IVF you can absolutely use aspects of preconception care to improve the effectiveness of your IVF programme and have great health in place on conception.
During your preconception care you will become in tune with your body and your cycles, a fabulous way to prepare for pregnancy and birth.
Please see the practitioners section on this site to connect with our natural health practitioners and check out when they are available at the College!
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