Hi
Here are few details on preparing for pregnancy
Healthy weight
Women who smoke and who are underweight or overweight (BMI less than 18.5 or over 25 - please see our BMI calculator) are also more likely to have trouble conceiving. If you need to lose weight, try to do this before you become pregnant because dieting to lose weight isn't recommended during pregnancy.
Healthy eating
Eating a healthy diet before pregnancy means that your body has adequate stores of vitamins and minerals. A nutritious, well-balanced diet includes:
plenty of fruit and vegetables (at least five portions per day), which provide vitamins and fibre
starchy foods such as potatoes and whole grain cereals, bread and pasta
protein such as lean meat, fish and pulses
dairy foods such as milk and yoghurt, which supply calcium
It's best to limit your intake of sugary, salty and fatty foods.
Pregnant women can become anaemic so make sure you eat plenty of iron-rich foods to build up your iron stores. These include red meat, pulses, fortified breakfast cereals, dried fruit, bread and green vegetables.
A well-balanced and varied vegetarian diet should provide all that you need, but you may find it harder to eat enough iron and vitamin B12. It's a good idea to speak to your GP about ways to increase your intake. Also ask for advice if you are on a vegan or any other restricted diet.
There are certain foods that you shouldn't eat pre-pregnancy because they may make you ill or may harm the baby if you do become pregnant. The Department of Health advises that you don't eat:
liver and large quantities of vitamin A in supplements such as fish liver oils
unpasteurised dairy products
raw or soft-cooked eggs
pâtés, including vegetable pâté
soft cheeses such as brie or camembert
blue cheeses such as stilton or roquefort
swordfish, marlin and shark
any more than two tuna steaks (170g raw) or four tins of tuna (140g drained) per week
Folic acid
Folic acid (one of the B vitamins) is the only pre-pregnancy vitamin supplement recommended for women who are eating a balanced diet.
You need folic acid for the development of healthy red blood cells. Adequate intake of folic acid also reduces the risk of your baby being born with a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida. The neural tube develops very early in pregnancy, during the first few weeks after fertilisation. At this point you may not have even realised you are pregnant.
It's important that you start taking folic acid supplements when you start trying for a baby or as soon as you realise you are pregnant. The recommended dose is 400 micrograms (0.4mg) daily, which you should take as well as meeting the recommended intake of 200 micrograms in your diet. Good sources of folic acid include fresh dark green vegetables such as broccoli, peas, brussels sprouts and chick peas. Many breakfast cereals are fortified with folic acid and it is also found in wholemeal bread.
A higher dose of 5,000 micrograms (5mg) of folic acid is recommended for women who have previously had a baby with a neural tube defect, or are taking medicine for epilepsy. If you have a family history of neural tube defects then you should also take the higher dose. Speak to your GP about folic acid before trying for a baby if any of these apply to you.
What to stop before trying for a baby
Smoking
It's a good idea to stop smoking before trying to become pregnant. Smoking reduces fertility by affecting ovulation in women and reducing sperm count and sperm motility in men.
Smoking during pregnancy is also linked with risks for the baby including premature birth, low birth weight and cot death.
Alcohol
Too much alcohol may decrease fertility in men. For women, heavy drinking, especially binge drinking, can cause problems for a developing baby, leading to poor growth, intellectual impairment or birth defects (fetal alcohol syndrome). The effects of small amounts of alcohol in pregnancy are not clear, but doctors know that it does cross the placenta and may affect the baby's developing brain.
It's best not to drink alcohol if you are trying to conceive, or at any stage during pregnancy. This is particularly important during the first three months of pregnancy, when important organs such as the brain are forming. If you do decide to drink alcohol, have no more than one or two units of alcohol, once or twice a week. Don't get drunk, or drink more than five units of alcohol in one go (known as "binge drinking"), as this may harm your unborn baby.
Hope this helps....
anjie