Pre-Pregnancy Check Up

As soon as you decide to start a family, make it a point to have a complete health checkup. Your doctor will then advise you what changes you need to make in your lifestyle, if any, to increase your chances of not just becoming pregnant, but also of having a healthy pregnancy.

Remember, getting pregnant means that your body will be undergoing a lot of changes, and it needs to be in the best of health to do this. It is important that you divulge your entire medical history to your doctor. Also, let your doctor know if you are taking any medication, including regular over-the-counter drugs.

Your doctor may recommend that you get a few tests done, such as pap smear, blood test, blood pressure, urine analysis etc. If you have not had rubella, your doctor may advise you to get a vaccination, in which case you need to wait a couple of months before conceiving. Also, if you have any STD, it may be advisable to wait until the infection completely clears before trying to conceive.

Ovulation

Once you have the green signal from your doctor and all tests have been clear, it is time to start working on getting pregnant. You are most fertile when you are ovulating, but it is a little tricky to figure out when exactly that is.

Although you are most likely to get pregnant around 14 days after your period, this method is not always completely reliable, especially if your periods are irregular.

Possibly the most accurate way to determine when you are ovulating is to take your basal body thermometer and check your cervical mucus.

A basal body thermometer will show you very minute changes in your body temperature. Take your temperature at the same time everyday, as soon as you wake up, before getting out of bed, and note it down in a chart. The day your body temperature is the highest in the month, is the day you are most fertile. Also, check your cervical mucus regularly. The day your cervical mucus is thick and a little transparent, almost the consistency of raw egg white, should coincide with the day your temperature is at its highest. This is when you should have intercourse.

Folic Acid

Start taking folic acid or Vitamin B9 supplements. This reduces the risk of neural tube birth defects. Around 400 mcg a day should be appropriate when you are trying to conceive, and if you are pregnant, you may need around 600 to 800 mcg. In any case, this is a water soluble supplement, and so your body flushes out the excess. The only problem is that taking excessive Vitamin B9 supplements may conceal a Vitamin B-12 deficiency, often found in vegetarians. B9 is also found in foods like green leafy vegetables, lentils, wheatgerm, asparagus, broccoli, eggs, canned salmon and papaya, amongst others.

Now you've seen what you should be eating, here's what you should avoid when you are trying to conceive. Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs
Coffee
Black tea
Chocolates
Soft drinks containing caffeine
Too much Vitamin A, C or D. Once again, do take folic acid supplements. Undercooked meats and eggs. Avoid half boiled eggs.