How to be prepared for Pregnancy
These factors might affect your ability to get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy. This applies to men too. You are more likely to get pregnant if you are both in good health.
- If you smoke, quit smoke
- Eat a balanced diet.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- You should avoid drinking alcohol.
- Take exercise.
- If you or your partner take any medication for any kind of health issue, talk to your doctor about it and confirm whether it will affect your pregnancy or not.
- Take 400 micrograms of folic acid a day.
- If you have a health condition, for example, mental health problems, diabetes or a family history of any inherited diseases, talk to your GP or a specialist before you try to get pregnant.
When to get pregnant
You are most suitable to get pregnant if you have sex within a day or so of ovulation. The most suitable day is 14 days after the first day of your last period. Women egg lives for about 12–24 hours after it is released. For you to get pregnant, the egg must be fertilized by a sperm within this time. After entering the woman’s body, Sperm can live for up to seven days inside the body. Therefore if you have sex in the seven days before ovulation, the sperm will have had time to travel up the fallopian tubes to ‘wait’ for.
If you miss your periods, you can do a pregnancy test on your own. As soon as you know you are pregnant, get in touch with a midwife or your GP to organize your antenatal care. After confirming you are pregnant you may have a mixed feeling such as happy and excited or even shocked, confused and upset. Everybody is different and you should not worry if you are not feeling as happy as you might have expected. Some of these feelings may be caused by changes in your hormone levels, which can make you feel more emotional
Pregnancy Test
Pregnancy tests can be carried out on a sample of urine from the first day of a missed period, which means that, if you are pregnant, you are about two weeks after conception. Sometimes very sensitive tests can be used even before you miss a period and give positive results.
You can collect urine at any time of the day. Use a clean, soap-free, well-rinsed container to collect it. You can get pregnancy tests free of charge from your GP or family planning clinic.
There is nothing to worry about many pharmacists and most pregnancy advisory services also offer tests, usually for a small charge. You can buy a pregnancy test kit and do-it-yourself and They can give you a quick result and you can do the test in private. There is a range of available tests. How they work varies, so check the instructions.
The earliest and most faithful sign of pregnancy is a missed period but some women who are pregnant have a very light period, losing only a little blood.
Other signs of pregnancy are as follows:
- Having ‘morning sickness’ but this can happen at any time of the day not only morning. But if you feeling this all the time and you cannot keep anything down, please contact your GP.
- Your breasts may feel tender and become larger, as they might do before your period. They may also tingle. The nipples may darken and stand out and veins may show up more.
- Needing to pass urine more often – you may find that you have to get up in the night.
- Feeling more tired than usual days.
- Having a metallic taste in your mouth or other strange tastes.
- Craving for different foods.
Hormonal changes taking place in your body can make you feel tired, nauseous, emotional and upset –particularly in the first three months. You may find that you cry more easily, sometimes for no reason, and lose your temper more. Being tired every time and run down can make you feel low. Try to look after your physical health and get plenty of sleep.
