10 Tips to follow for women when planning to have a baby

Every woman wants to be a mother at some point of her life. Motherhood is nature's exclusive gift to woman. If you are planning to have a baby, what should you do?

Here are 10 tips for women when planning to have a baby

1. Whenever you are ready to conceive, start taking folic acid supplements daily. You can start as early as 3 months before you intend to get pregnant. This is important since it helps in growth and development of the baby's brain and spine. 

2. Stop taking any unwanted medicines or talk to your doctor about your existing medications. Some of these may be harmful to your baby. If needed, your doctor would change over to a safer medicine that could be usedduring pregnancy. 

3. Start eating healthy. Fresh fruits, vegetables, spinach and meat are required for your baby. This is the time to get rid of your bad eating habits, and avoid junk food that does not help either you or your baby in any way. Raisins, dates, milk and eggs are all good for you.

4. Know the toxins that harm your baby. Cigarette smoking, tobacco use, alcohol consumption in any form and quantity, illicit drugs - are potential toxins that could harm your baby. You must avoid them while you plan to have a baby and throughout your pregnancy as well.

5. Exercise - If you regularly exercise and are now planning to have a baby, continue your exercise routine. There is no need to change it. If you are not into regular exercising, joining a prenatal yoga or exercise class would be great. Keeping your body in good physical state is essential before, during and after your delivery as well.

6. Prepare your mind for it - Now that you have decided to have a baby, you need to be mentally prepared for it. This is important since it would involve a full 9 months of change in your physical and mental state. You must train your mind to remain calm and de-stressed while you are pregnant.  

7. Talk to your partner about how you would like to go about with the pregnancy. Take his viewpoints as well. Both of you could discuss it and come out with beneficial outcomes. 

8. Get the basic health investigations done like your hemoglobin, thyroid hormone status, blood sugars, and blood pressure. The normal values of these are important to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Additional tests would be required based on your medical status.

9. Know the days of your ovulation - This is important as fertilization can occur only when you ovulate. You must have sexual intercourse around the time of your ovulation days to have maximum chances of getting pregnant.

10. Get to know your family history - This is important in case of hereditary defects that run in families that you may be unaware about; more so, in cases of infant deaths, miscarriages and infertility. In such situations, you could opt for a prenatal genetic counseling that could help you in making the right decisions.