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Pregnancy planning checklists
Pre-pregnancy health
If you’re thinking of having a baby, the best thing you can do is plan for it.
Pregnancy is a natural part of the life cycle but having a baby still takes a
lot of adjustment – both physically and emotionally. There are many things that
you and your partner can do before getting pregnant to make sure that you give
your baby a healthy start in life.
Statistics show that 50% of pregnancies are unplanned so, even if you’re not
thinking about having a baby right away, it’s wise to be prepared for the
changes that may lie ahead.
Think of the time before pregnancy as a training period – a time of planning and
preparation that will get your mind and your body ready for the marathon of
parenthood!
Pregnancy planning checklists
We’ve all seen couples planning for their new arrival by painting the nursery,
picking out names or budgeting for that trendy stroller. What many couples don’t
know is that the most important thing to prepare is themselves. Here are some
things you and your partner can do to plan your healthy pregnancy:
Physical Check:
| 1. | Book a check-up with your doctor for
you and your partner. Tell your doctor you are planning to get pregnant.
| | 2. | Review your family’s
medical history with your doctor.
| | 3. | Ensure your immunizations
are up-to-date.
| | 4. | Be active—a healthy body is
a great start to a healthy pregnancy.
| | 5. | Follow Canada’s Food Guide
and eat a variety of healthy foods.
| | 6. | Take a multivitamin
containing at least 0.4 mg of folic acid supplement every day before you get
pregnant to help lower the risk of serious birth defects such as Neural Tube
Defects.
| | 7. | Be aware of possible
environmental risks at your job and in your home.
| | 8. | Know what you’re putting
into your body. Tobacco, alcohol, drugs, over-the-counter medications or
herbal remedies can affect both a woman’s and a man’s ability to conceive.
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Emotional Check:
| 1. | Do I like children?
| | 2. | How do I feel about having
a child around all the time?
| | 3. | Could I handle a child and
a job at the same time?
| | 4. | Do I qualify for a parental
leave?
| | 5. | Do I welcome the
opportunity of falling in love with my child?
| | 6. | Can I identify myself as a
parent?
| | 7. | Who are my role models?
| | 8. | What skills can I share
with and teach to my children?
| | 9. | Am I ready to change my
daily routine to meet my baby’s needs?
| | 10. | Can I afford to support a
child?
| | 11. | Am I patient enough to
deal with the noise and the confusion and the 24-hour a day responsibility?
| | 12. | What kind of time and
space do I need for myself?
| | 13. | Am I ready to totally turn
my priorities upside down? From now on, it will be family and work first and
my social life/personal time second.
| | 14. | Ensure your relationship
is healthy. Abuse can occasionally surface in pregnancy.
| | 15. | Talk openly with your
partner about the stresses in your life and decide if you are ready to
parent.
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Pre-pregnancy health
Make healthy food choices
What you eat before and during your pregnancy can have a tremendous impact on
your baby’s long-term health. Whether your pregnancy is planned or unplanned,
you may not know for sure that you are pregnant until several weeks after
conception. In that short time, your baby will have grown at an amazing rate.
Just 28 days after conception, a baby’s spinal cord and brain are completely
formed and other major organs are rapidly developing.
At this crucial stage, your baby needs essential nutrients to grow strong and
healthy. So you can’t wait until you’re sure you are pregnant before you start
thinking about eating a healthy diet. You need make nutrition a priority long
before you try to conceive. If you are well-nourished, your body will also cope
better with the demands of pregnancy and will recover faster after your baby is
born. By eating a nutritious diet, you will be laying a foundation of good
health for you and your baby.
Make sure you are eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, with plenty of
protein, calcium and whole grains. Learn more about healthy eating.
Focus on folic acid
Folic acid or folate is a B vitamin that is essential for the normal development
of your baby’s brain and spinal cord. If you don’t get enough folic acid, your
baby is at risk for developing neural tube defects (NTD). The most common NTD is
spina bifida, a serious birth defect that develops when the spinal cord fails to
close completely. NTDs can cause stillbirth or lifelong disabilities.
NTDs develop in the first four weeks of pregnancy, often before you even know
you’re pregnant. But folic acid can reduce the risk of NTDs by more than 70% if
you take it before you become pregnant. To protect
your baby’s health, you should take a folate supplement or daily multivitamin
that contains at least 0.4 mg of folic acid. Start the supplements one
to three months before conception and continue taking them for at least
the first three months of your pregnancy.
Even the best food sources won’t supply all the folate you need. But, eating
several servings of foods rich in folic acid (beans, nuts, dark leafy
vegetables) is an excellent way to complement your daily multivitamin.
Cut back on caffeine
If you’re a coffee addict, now is the time to break the habit. Caffeine can
delay your ability to conceive and increase your risk of miscarriage. It also
passes easily to your baby and may have harmful effects on your baby’s heart
rate and breathing.
Coffee and tea are common sources of caffeine but many drinks and foods contain
caffeine (e.g. soda pop, some bottled waters, chocolate) – so be aware! Try to
limit your caffeine intake to 300 mg a day (approx. 1 ½ cups of coffee).
Eat iron-rich foods
Iron deficiency is a common problem in women of childbearing age. When you are
pregnant, your daily iron requirements increase significantly, so it’s important
to eat more iron-rich foods to help build your iron stores. Try to add more red
meat, fish, poultry, pork and lamb to your diet – you may also have to take a
prenatal iron supplement to meet your daily requirements.
Smoking is dangerous for your baby’s health
Smoking can cause everything from infertility and stillbirth to low birth weight
and premature delivery. Babies exposed to smoke before birth are also at higher
risk for asthma and learning problems.
When you smoke, your baby smokes! So take the right step and quit
before you get pregnant.
Alcohol: An important “no”
No one knows how much alcohol is safe during pregnancy. But, just like smoking,
every alcoholic drink you take affects your growing baby. The wise move is to
avoid all alcohol as soon as there is a chance that you might get pregnant.
Use medications cautiously
Over-the-counter pain-killers, cold remedies, vitamins and other medications may
contain chemicals that are harmful during pregnancy. Always consult your doctor
before taking any type of medication.
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