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Your body does a lot for you. If you're planning on becoming pregnant in the future, it will be doing even more. Your body deserves your respect, love, and gratitude. In this three-part series, we're going to talk about how to treat it right - before, during, and after pregnancy.


In this first post, we'll explore what you can do to prepare in the weeks and months before pregnancy.

As with any time in your life, doing what you can (and what is within your control) to have a strong and healthy body, is always the goal. A healthy lifestyle is always to your benefit.

Related: Busy Moms Make These 5 Health Mistakes

Natasha Marchand is co-owner of Baby & Me Fitness, and the creator of a popular fertility yoga program. She says, "Working towards a healthy lifestyle will boost fertility and also help you maintain a healthy pregnancy."

This is how you can prep your body for pregnancy:

1. Fitness

Planning a pregnancy can have the bonus effect of causing people to examine their lifestyle with a critical eye. Often, this means women will get a bit more serious about their physical fitness with the goal of having the healthiest and strongest body they can for pregnancy.

Ease into it.

If your current fitness routine is lacking, don't fret. There is no need to ramp up quickly to an Olympic-level training program. In fact, it's better to ease into a fitness routine slowly.

"Your lifestyle is cumulative," says Marchand. "So, you don't have to spend an hour each day doing one activity or a workout. Gradually begin adding exercise into your life - take the stairs more, park a little bit further from the entrance of the mall or grocery store, take a walk on your lunch break and then just keep adding in little things from there."

Keep it consistent.

Marchand suggests adopting a moderate, consistent exercise routine. The best and easiest way to develop a healthier lifestyle is to keep your body moving and your heart rate up. Pick an exercise routine that you love because then you'll keep at it - try walking, swimming, zumba or another fun class. Yoga is also a great option.

"Any kind of yoga will work to slow your breath and open the hips to bring blood flow into the reproductive organs, " says Marchand.

Don't overdo it.

If regular, moderate exercise is already a part of your lifestyle, there is no need to change what you're doing if you are trying to conceive or preparing to carry. However, if you are trying to conceive and it is not happening easily after several months, you could consider some adjustments. There is such a thing as too much exercise. Regular, intense exercise puts stress on your body and can actually hinder your chances of conception.

"Anytime your body is in 'stress mode' and 'ready to run', your bodily functions like sleep, digestion and reproduction do not run as smoothly," explains Marchand. "For that reason, consistent, moderate exercise will be better for those trying to conceive."

Other things you can do:
  • Cut out or cut back on caffeine, alcohol, and cigarettes.
  • Get tested for sexually-transmitted infections. Chlamydia, for example, can cause blockages in the fallopian tubes.
  • Address your stress: find effective ways at dealing with stress in your life.

2. Nutrition

Allison Martineau is a nutritionist and founder of Sweetpea Nutrition, which helps families with nutrition plans on the path to and through pregnancy and parenthood. If you are trying to conceive or preparing for pregnancy, she suggests a four-pronged approach to getting your body in optimal shape.

Do a gentle detox.

We're not talking about a fad juice cleanse. Our bodies are constantly detoxing so you don't need to do much.

"In fertility planning, gentle cleansing is best," says Martineau. "This is done by reducing our toxic load in the first place and then supporting our detoxification pathways which rely on certain nutrients to function optimally."

Related: These 5 Yummy Recipes Prove Healthy Doesn't Have to be Costly

Do this at least three months prior to trying to conceive.

Here's how:

Step 1- Reduce the amount of toxins coming in. Eat less processed foods and choose organic produce when possible. Limit your exposure to harmful chemicals found in beauty and cleaning products by choosing more natural brands.

Step 2 - Support the body's natural detox process by choosing a wide variety of good foods:
  • At least one cup of leafy green veggies (kale, cabbage, broccoli, etc.) and a couple of cloves of garlic a day, fresh vegetable juices, grapes, turmeric, rosemary, berries and citrus fruits.
  • High quality proteins: wild caught fish that are high in Omega 3s but low in mercury such as salmon, sardines or herring, eggs, poultry and meat (antibiotic-free if possible). Vegetarian protein sources include quinoa, edamame, and hemp seeds.
Take supplements.

Omega 3, folate (folic acid) and vitamin D should be taken as preconception supplements. Ask your doctor what the right level of vitamin D supplementation is for you. Take 800-1200 mcg of folate/day for several months before start of pregnancy. All women in their childbearing years should be taking folic acid if there's any chance of becoming pregnant because it is critical in the development of your baby's spine in the very early days of pregnancy. The best food sources of folate include spinach, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, lentils, and avocado.

Related: How to Stay Healthy During Pregnancy: Part 2

Support your gut health.

Gut health is also extremely important. If you are not digesting your food properly, the nutrients in your food will not be properly absorbed. Focus on eating probiotic rich foods, such as yogurt, sauerkraut or pickled vegetables or consider taking a probiotic supplement.

Up your antioxidants.

Antioxidants come in a variety of foods. Ensuring your diet consists of an assortment of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and other sources of fat and high quality protein sources is the main goal. Antioxidants are linked to male fertility so if you have a male partner, get him in on the healthy eating too!

In the next post to our three-part series, we'll explore the best nutrition and fitness tips during your pregnancy.