The Power of Preparing for Pregnancy

There is a bit of a misconception that growing a baby starts from the moment you conceive, but it actually starts months beforehand, while the sperm are growing and egg cells are still maturing inside of us. 

Women are actually born with all their eggs as immature follicles but each egg has a maturation phase of around 120 days. It’s similar for men ~ a sperm’s lifecycle is around 70-90 days. 

It is what we do in the months leading up to conception that plays a huge role in the health of our future child ~ after all we mum and dad you are both supplying 50% of the DNA! 

There are many levels that cover preconception preparation. I like to split them up into the following; 

1.Hormonal balance, understanding your cycle + being in harmony 
There are many underlying hormonal issues in both men and women that can alter their fertility, whether it be low progesterone, endo or PCOS, it’s best to know your condition and how to work with this to fall pregnant. 

2. Nourishment
Through ensuring a nutrient dense and hormone loving diet so you are eating optimally and building your stores ~ building a baby is hard work so it’s important not to go into pregnancy depleted.
Additionally ensuring the appropriate supplementation is key ~ what nutrients you may be missing in your diet and what nutrients you will just need more of for optimal fertility, pregnancy and beyond! 

3. Ensuring all detoxification pathways are functioning optimally and removing any environmental toxins
First step to this is removing the unnecessary burden on our system, removing any toxins in your home or that you are putting on your skin (many of these are endocrine disruptors and can lead to hormonal imbalance). Ensuring your body is detoxing correctly is important so that you are not holding onto any waste/toxins that can impact your conception/pregnancy/baby. 

4. Emotional prep and stress management 
The journey from maiden to mother is a big one and often overlooked! Emotional prep is key but also managing stress. If an individual is exposed to stress often it can cause hormonal imbalance and in particular halting ovulation (aka temporarily losing the ability to fall pregnant) 

So, how can a naturopath help you prepare for pregnancy? 

We cover the four levels above in depth, ensuring you are in the most optimal health for conception, each of these levels can be individual depending on the person’s environmental and health. We can also tailor a unique supplement regime to suit you and your partner. 

We are all different, we follow different nutritional guidelines and we all have our own health challenges ~ so supplements in the preconception phase should be used to compliment this.