Planning for the Positive
Did you know most couples will spend between 12-18 months planning for their wedding? Every detail is meticulously planned out. Even the most basic of details is considered and chosen thoughtfully. It’s a big day, a day the bride has likely dreamt about before she even met her soon-to-be forever partner, so this attention makes a lot of sense.
Typically, the second next thing a woman has dreamt about since she was a little girl, is the moment she finds out she is going to be a mom. I’d venture to guess that becoming a mom tops the wedding when it comes to how deeply the desire is felt. Yet, we don’t give near enough attention to the planning of our babies. Why is this? Is it because we have been taught that getting pregnant is so easy, and for so long have been more concerned with preventing pregnancy before we’re actually ready? Is it because we see women get pregnant all the time in less-than-ideal circumstances and give birth to seemingly healthy babies, so what’s the big deal? Women are designed to get pregnant, so we assume it will be easy and require little effort. For a lot of women this is true. They get pregnant and give birth. Simple, right?
Let’s take a step back for a minute and look at some statistics.
62% of women are on birth control.
13.8% of women are experiencing impaired fertility.
12.2% of women seek treatment for infertility.
The reality is that for a lot of women, having a baby turns out to be more challenging than she thought. On top of that, we are seeing chronic illness in children for the first time. Illnesses that, up until now were seen in older adults (and after a lifetime of not caring for their bodies properly). Studies are now showing that these chronic illnesses are a direct result of the nutrition and lifestyle choices that mom made while she was pregnant. What this shows us is that, despite our litmus test of child-bearing success being - mom got pregnant easily, mom gave birth to baby with no medical conditions, there is MORE to the story. The future health of our children hangs on what we eat, how we slept, how we moved our body, and the stress we experienced while pregnant (and 3 months before pregnancy). If you knew your choices would either make getting pregnant easy or hard, would you seek answers well in advance of your target “get pregnant” date? If you knew the choices you made THREE months before getting pregnant up to the time you give birth, would determine if your child will get type 2 diabetes later (or earlier) in life, would you seek out the support to ensure the future health of your child before you decide to be a mom?
I know you would.
We need to start viewing pregnancy as something that deserves as much thought, time, and attention to detail as we give our wedding. Our wedding is important and special, but it’s ONE day. Your future pregnancy will be 10 months long. Your timeframe for getting pregnant once you decide to start trying can be as little as one month and as long as years (yes…years!), and the inherited health of your child will last their lifetime.
We have to start preparing for the positive test. How far in advance depends on your current menstrual cycle, your health history, how long you have been trying, and whether you need time to come off and recover from being on hormonal birth control. The LEAST amount of time is 3 months. This isn’t some random number either, it is based on actual physiology. The egg and sperm that will become baby actually start getting ready for the big show three months before they are released to do their magic. That means you want to give it at least 3 months of solid nutrition and lifestyle changes to ensure the egg and sperm have what they need to come together and sustain the embryo until the placenta takes over.
If you’re looking for more guidance and support, I do just that! Your story and health is unique and I create a plan that is just as unique as you are. You won’t have to guess what supplements would be best, what foods you should be eating, and how to prepare your body for the biggest task it will ever do. I will walk you through it all and be with you every step of the way to answer questions.
If you aren’t ready for 1:1 support, you can sign up for my weekly newsletter and be the first to know when I launch a self-paced Fertility and Pregnancy guide. You can also send me an email or DM and I can guide you in the direction of some great books that will help you on this journey.
To Health + Babies,
