Preparing for Pregnancy
Preparing for Pregnancy (Women)
The journey through infertility to pregnancy can be stressful. Taking care of your physical and emotional health can help. Some suggestions for optimizing your health include:
- Weight: It is important to be at a healthy weight for your height. Women with a body mass index under 19 or over 32 have a significantly lower chance of getting pregnant and an increased risk of miscarriage. Just losing five to 10 pounds if you are overweight can significantly improve your fertility.
- Smoking: Women who smoke have a lower chance of becoming pregnant and a higher rate of miscarriage.
- Recreational drugs: All such drugs can have an adverse effect on your fertility and the health of your baby.
- Supplements: We recommend that you take a multivitamin supplement containing folic acid (0.4 to 1.0 mg daily). This B vitamin reduces the risk of some serious defects of the central nervous system in the fetus. You should start taking folic acid as soon as you start trying to get pregnant.
- Caffeine: We recommend you consume no more than 200 mg of caffeine per day. This is approximately 2 cups of coffee per day.
- Lubricants: Avoid artificial lubricants, oils, petroleum jelly, or glycerine as they can all kill sperm.
Preparing for Pregnancy (Men)
- Excessive heat: Avoid exposing testicles to excessive heat like hot baths, hot tubs or saunas, or tight clothing.
- Smoking: Smoking decreases sperm production.
- Prescription, over the counter and recreational drugs: Anabolic steroids, frequent use of marijuana, and some over the counter and prescription medications may reduce sperm production.