10 Things to do BEFORE You Try to Get Pregnant

So you’re thinking about trying to get pregnant? Congrats! A healthy pregnancy begins before you become pregnant. What you do now, can make sure your future pregnancies are healthy. Here’s what you can do now, to begin preparing your body, yourself, and your partner for pregnancy and starting a family. 

10 Practical Things to do BEFORE You Get Pregnant

Getting your body ready for pregnancy and growing a baby, starts 2 to 3 months ahead of when you would like to start trying to conceive. First, these are the things to do before you start trying to get pregnant, which will help you during pregnancy and give your baby the best conditions possible to grow and develop for 10 months.

 

1. Detox

6 – 12 months before you want to start trying to get pregnant, it’s really important to detox your body. The reason is because all the toxicities you have stored in your body – metals, chemicals, pesticides, fire retardants (yes, this is a real thing, and it’s in furniture, carpet, woods, and mattresses), toxicities from vaccines and more… get passed along to your baby. Your baby acts as a vacuum for toxicities – it sucks it up into it’s own body, which is why it’s important to clean your terrain before you get pregnant because you can’t detox once you are.

1. Look into doing very clean and safe detox Microbe Formulas is one of the safest and most comprehensive (as well as effective) detox protocols I’ve found. The products are gentle enough for children and you can adjust dosing based on how you feel. Do not buy a cheap detox off amazon. A lot of these products are not original and have ingredients tampered with, or tested for carcignogens or heavy metals – not safe and not what you want to put IN your body. Those are things you want to take OUT of your body! The binders microbe formulas has created, are the only kind to cross the blood-brain barrier to remove toxins like pathogens, parasites, and metals from the body.

   If you have questions about a detox protocol and making sure you know what to do, email me at corinne @ thepragmaticparent.com and I’d be happy to point you in the right direction!

   You can also with a naturopath or functional med if you have one you like in your area to guide you through this, too.

2. Eat clean. Organic, non-gmo and unprocessed as much as possible. Here’s how to make sure you’re getting organic food at the store, through farmer’s markets and local vendors.
3. Drink clean water. Invest in a filter. My personal favorite for a system whether it’s under the counter, whole house, or portable is Propur. I weighed my options against the Berkey but the Berkey has some information floating around that the filter leeches metals into the water which is a no-no for me. If you want a countertop system, Propur makes one just like Berkey but without metals! Propur publishes all their third-party testing and no mater what your water is like in any part of the country, this removes most everything. It’s not a reverse osmosis system so you’ll just have to make sure you’re adding minerals back into your water (I use these minerals for myself and my kids which is good to use regardless of the water you drink) before you drink, but otherwise this is the cleanest water you’ll find.

 

2. Start Taking a Prenatal Vitamin

Generally, it’s recommended you begin taking a quality (preferably organic) prenatal vitamin three months before conceiving. Prenatal vitamins are packed with nutrients which are essential to the early development of your baby.

Prenatal vitamins can help reduce the chance for neural tube defects, which happen in the first 4 – 6 weeks of growth. During this time, you most likely aren’t even aware you’re pregnant, but by taking prenatal vitamins before conception, you’re already giving your baby the best chance of healthy growth.

If you find your prenatal vitamins are making you nauseous, try taking them at night before you go to sleep. You may also need to try out different brands to find one that fits your tummy. I really liked this brand of prenatal vitamins when I was pregnant the second time.

Safety Note: Stay away from Rainbow Light prenatals. They were sued in 2019 and found guilty in a California lawsuit after safety testing found mercery and heavy metals in their prenatal products.

 

3. Schedule a Check-up with Your Doctor

Scheduling an appointment for an overall health check-up and to talk with your doctor about starting to try to get pregnant is important. This check-up will make sure your body is ready for pregnancy, but that there aren’t any hidden sicknesses you aren’t aware of, or that could affect pregnancy and your baby.

Check with your health insurance provider if your annual physical exam is part of your coverage. If you would like any genetic screening before pregnancy, to see if you are a carrier for any abnormalities, you can do this at your appointment as well.

At this appointment, your doctor will talk to you about how to help prepare your body for pregnancy. If your doctor is part of a family practice, she may be with you throughout your pregnancy, and see your baby after he or she is born.

Take it one step further: Seek a functional medicine doctor or naturopath who will run a full rest of in-depth labs and get your body in balance.

 

4. Ditch Toxins & Create a Non Toxic Healthy Home For Your Family

There’s a growing body of scientific evidence has indicated that the air within homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities, according to the CDC.

Do you have candles, or cans of air freshener, plug-in Glade or Febreeze, or anything with fragrance in your home? Toss it, right now.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals emitted by gasses in certain solids and liquids and have adverse effects. VOCs mix with the ozone inside your home to create smog.

The EPA found that VOC concentrations in homes are 2 to 5 times higher than outside, regardless of what kind of area you live in.

 

A. Remove Synthetic Fragrances 

• • There’s an loophole for companies that the FDA does not require full disclosure of chemicals found in “fragrance,” “perfume” or “perfume.” This means, there could be up to 3,100 chemicals in that one ingredient found on the bottle of cleaning product, laundry detergent, perfume, dryer sheets, candles and more in your home.
  • Synthetic fragrances are dangerous because they are hormone mimickers which means they mimic hormones in your body and disrupt your body’s natural system, and it’s particularly dangerous in children and women because it affects reproductive organs. Endocrine disruptors have been tied to cancers, hormone imbalance, infertility and other terrible side effects.
  • Ditch anything with a “fragrance,” “perfume” or “perfume” and opt for a non-toxic product, including cleaning products, perfume, air sprays, candles, and anything scented.
  • Think lotions, cleaning products, perfumes, candles, trash bags, bath bombs and bath scented products, personal care products, scented air fresheners (in your car too!), laundry detergents, and even stuffed animals and toys that come with smells.

 

B. Begin Purifying Your Home’s Air 

• Use a HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner like the Shark Navigator Lift Away (ours has been going strong for three years and I love how light it is my kids can use and help with chores, too.)
• Place air purifiers throughout your home. It’s important you don’t just grab anyone from Target or Walmart, but invest in a quality, HEPA filtering and tested purifier that scientifically does what it says. The Germ Guardian is a great choice and sanitizes too! It’s important to have clean air in the rooms you sleep in and are in most days.
• Open windows in the morning and afternoon, and sleep with your windows cracked if it’s not too cold
• Invest in air cleaning plants like a snake plant. Here’s a list of 12 more air cleaning plants.
• Don’t wear shoes in your house
• Dust often

C. Switch Out Your Cleaning Products 

• Cleaning products, especially bathroom products like clorox, bleach, and laundry products with fragrance (ditch those dryer sheets right now and use wool balls instead) are full of toxins that live on your clothes and therefore transfer to your skin and into the bloodstream. Use the thinkdirty app or go to the EWG skin deep site to check all your products and ditch everything that’s unsafe right now.
• I cannot begin to explain how much I love the cleaning concentrate and oxygen boost from Branch Basics. It’s replaced every single cleaning product I have in my home (laundry, dishes, hand soap, carpet cleaners, stain cleaners, dishwasher detergent, etc.) with this one product. I’ve switched cleaning products in my children’s classrooms and one concentrate bottle lasts me two months for all the cleaning and laundry we do as a family of five. Get $10 off when you buy Branch Basics through this link (not found in stores.)

Living in a less toxic home is not only good for your immediate and long-term health, and fertility, but your baby’s health too.

 

5. Enjoy These Foods While You Can

Certain foods are off-limits while you’re pregnant… so enjoy the while you can!

Spicy Foods can easily cause heartburn in pregnancy, even if you’ve never had it before.

Soak up the spicy chips and salsa now, before it becomes painful. If you’re like me and have never had acid reflux before, don’t be surprised if it shows up while you’re pregnant.

Soft cheeses are a big no during pregnancy, (such as soft Mexican cheeses like queso blanco and blue cheese).

Sushi is off limits – anything with raw fish in it is a no-no.

Dishes where eggs are not cooked completely (Caesar salad dressing, eggnog, raw cookie dough, soft scrambled eggs, or sunny side up eggs – where eggs (yolk & white) are not cooked completely.

 

6. Hot Water – Hot Tubs & Hot Showers

I love taking hot baths and even visiting our local hot springs, but soaking in hot water (hot tubs, hot showers, hot baths and hot springs) are strictly prohibited during pregnancy.

When your body temperate spikes, so does your baby and this can put them in distress and cause them to overheat and lead to complications. Also, pregnant woman more easily get dizzy and light headed throughout pregnancy. Being in hot water can increase the chances of passing out and being light headed while you’re in hot water and becomes a danger to you.

 

7. Physical Activities & Extreme Sports

Certain physical activities while you’re pregnant will be off limits including horseback riding, white water rafting, rollercoasters, rock climbing and mountain biking, and winter activities such as snowboarding, skiing, sledding and snowmobiling will be on the prohibited list.

If you’re an active person or outdoor enthusiast, enjoy these before you get pregnant because you’ll have to sit them out for the next 9 months, or more!

 

8. Make Nutrition & Health a Priority

Eating healthy and maintaining a healthy weight prior to pregnancy, will all help to ensure your body is ready to grow a baby.

This is general advice for anyone pregnant or not, but during pregnancy when the average woman gains 35lbs, getting to a health weight before this will decrease your chance of difficulties during pregnancy like diabetes and pre-eclampsia which not only affect you, but your baby.

If you want to lose weight, doing this before getting pregnant, is a good time to do it.

Also, before you are pregnant, enjoy intense exercise because this will be greatly reduced when you are growing a baby.

 

9. Sleep Now, While You Can

This won’t come as a surprise I’m sure, but once you’re pregnant and especially after your baby arrives, sleep will become a thing of the past. Take advantage and sleep now. Enjoy staying up late and sleeping in, and especially sleeping on your stomach and back.

When you’re pregnant, middle of the night bathroom calls will frequently interrupt sleep and after 16 weeks you aren’t allowed to sleep on your stomach or back, and it’s recommended you sleep on your left side to help with blood circulation. The limited sleep position can cause hip pain and restless nights of trying to sleep… take advantage and enjoy sleep now!

Get a quality pregnancy pillow (this pregnancy pillow is normally $49.99 but when you use the code PRAGMATIC1 it’s free (you’re only responsible for the shipping!) Be sure to check out all the other great freebies for expecting Moms.)

During our third pregnancy, we actually bought a new mattress and sleep was more comfortable and more restful. If you are in the market for a new mattress, now may be the best time to treat yourself (and go straight for the king size bed because with kiddos, you’re going to need it!)

 

10. Spend Time with Your Partner… Maybe Even Take a Babymoon

Once your baby is here, your focus will inevitably shift to your baby. Take time now to nurture and strengthen your relationship for those sleepless nights debating over who is taking night feedings and 2am diaper changes.

If you are planning a vacation, do this before you are pregnant and may not be feeling your best. If you wait until you’re pregnant to get away, the end of the second trimester and first few weeks of the third trimester would be ideal timing for a vacation.

During the second trimester when your energy picks up and you start to feel great again (and can comfortably walk around and stand on your feet), this is a great time to plan a little babymoon.

 

11. Evaluate Your Finances

Welcoming a baby into your family is incredible, but it also comes with a hefty price tag. It’s time to take an honest look at your finances and see if now really is the best time to begin trying for a baby, or if you’ll be in a better spot financially in 6 months or a year.

If you are buried in debt, focusing on your finances first, may be the wiser choice. Here are helpful ways to help plan for a baby on a budget.

Download a 1st Year Baby Budget  to get a better snapshot of what a baby costs during pregnancy and in the first year, so you can prepare for these expenses now.

 

The Ultimate Pregnancy Organization Toolkit

Be sure to snag the Preparing for Baby Toolkit Here – Read more about what’s inside to help you stay organized and prepare during every step of your pregnancy, and after you bring baby home. This information will help you prepare for baby, won’t let you forget any detail during pregnancy and take the overwhelm out of expecting a baby. Read more about what’s inside and how the preparing for baby toolkit will help you.