Planning for pregnancy | 5 things you need to consider now

Today officially starts my 3-month baby body prepping phase, as I like to call it. The Pre Conception phase is ideally 3 months before you begin to conceive.

In my opinion, it's the most crucial phase, but I have not been able to do this with my boys in the past. My boys were surprises that I didn't learn about until I was 4 months in. Yes, with both, crazy, I know... In all fairness, about 40% of all pregnancies worldwide are unplanned.

5 things you must consider before your pre-conception phase of pregnancy:

🧠 A healthy mental well-being

For you and your partner can help increase the chances of a healthy pregnancy and lower the risks of complications during pregnancy. Although a positive influence is always ideal in a partner, it may not always be possible. So self-care is even more critical during this time. Take the time YOU need to check on your mental space often.

Also, studies have even shown that what we eat influences our mood and behavior. Whole foods, rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, good fats, and phytonutrients, can make you less aggressive and improve your behavior.

🥬 Well balanced diet

When it comes to food and pregnancy, know that what you eat and the supplements you choose to take matter.

Americans have NO idea what is really going into their bodies. The food we eat is so bad it has created new diseases that never existed before.

Tell me if I am wrong, but I don't believe it's okay to eat "farm fresh" chicken washed in ammonia, giant holes carved into cows to give them a handful of grass directly into their stomach so they can kill the E. coli, or have some type of corn in pretty much EVERYTHING!

We make about 95% of our food from scratch; this way, we know the ingredients we are adding are clean. Remember, it's typically not the salt, sugar, or other ingredients you add to your home-cooked meals that pose a problem. It's the salt, sugar, bad fats, and unpronounceable toxic ingredients that food companies add to their food the damage your health.

💊 Supplements with added folate

Finding a prenatal vitamin was also really hard. I wanted it to be clean and contain all the vitamins and folate I needed.

After days of searching, I found Perelel. Their products are formulated by a panel of leading obstetricians and maternal-fetal medicine doctors. They don't contain gluten (a common trigger for me), soy, synthetic fillers, colorants, or GMOs and are third-party tested.

Their line also provides supplements for every stage my body is about to go through, from pre-conception to postpartum. Every ingredient is backed by research and targeted to your exact needs.

Their Conception Support Packs help me prepare with antioxidant support, added omegas, additional folate, and a full-spectrum prenatal vitamin. Checking all of the boxes on an easy monthly subscription costs me less than buying these all individually.

⚖️ Bodyweight

My weight hasn't been something I thought about in past pregnancies. But I was never overweight until the last 4 years. Recently losing weight was unintentional and intentional but not something I thought about in terms of baby number three.

Dangers of being overweight during pregnancy are more significant, along with risks of hypertension and pre-eclampsia linked to further complications like maternal morbidity, preterm births, macrosomia, and childhood obesity.

So maintaining a healthy body weight before pregnancy is apparently pretty important.

🏋🏻‍♂️ Physical activity

This one speaks for itself. Having a baby or not, you should be active for at least 20-40 minutes every day. Take a 10-minute brisk walk during your lunch break or take the stairs instead of the elevator to help you reach a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. Once you become pregnant, this physical activity should not stop. Just do it!

All the above are CRUCIAL to having a successful, easy-breezy, problem-free pregnancy. Are problems still possible even after following all the above? Of course, but at least you will know you did all that you could physically do. The rest is up to God and the doctors you choose to put in your corner.