How to Prepare Your Body Before Conceiving

You expect to spend quite a bit of time at the doctor’s office throughout your pregnancy, with regular visits to ensure everything progresses smoothly. Many women welcome this guidance and oversight from their obstetrician in such an important, sensitive season of life.

You don’t have to wait for a positive pregnancy test to get that kind of support, though. As experts in obstetrics, our team recommends preparing your body before conceiving. 

Here at Prestige Healthcare OBGYN in Atlanta, Georgia, we can start your prenatal care before conception. That way, you get the expertise of our board-certified OB/GYNs — Charis Trench-Simmons, MD, and Lorenza Simmons, MD — to help you ready your body.

With a pre-pregnancy checkup and healthy lifestyle adjustments, you set yourself up for the easiest, healthiest pregnancy possible. 

When to start getting ready

We recommend taking at least a month to get ready for conception. That allows you ample time to take specific steps and make certain changes. It also builds in time so that any lifestyle adjustments can positively impact your system. 

That said, we can recommend a timeline tailored to you. If you have a history of nutrient deficiency or smoking, for example, we might suggest waiting longer to let your body recover. Heading into pregnancy healthier creates a better environment for your baby to grow. 

In other cases, we might determine you’re already ready to get pregnant. Some women come to us and need minimal adjustments, shortening the time we recommend they wait. 

Your pregnancy prep checklist

The amount of time you should take to prepare for conception also depends on how much you need to do. Here’s a list of things we might recommend to get your body ready to conceive:

• Get a pre-pregnancy checkup, complete with a pelvic exam and blood work
• Talk with your doctor about health conditions you have and their impact on pregnancy
• Get up to date on vaccines you need
• Eat a healthy, minimally processed diet
• Limit your coffee intake to two or fewer cups a day
• Get regular exercise
• Quit smoking
• Start washing your hands more frequently and taking other steps to avoid illness
• Start taking a prenatal vitamin
• Avoid beauty and household products with harmful chemicals
• Try to get ample sleep
• Work on alleviating stressors in your life

Also, talk with us about the type of birth control you’re taking. We can help you plan when to stop taking it based on your pregnancy prep timeline. Some contraceptives leave your system right away, while others take a couple of weeks, so careful planning helps here. 

If you’re thinking about getting pregnant, talk with our team first. We can help you prepare your body for this major undertaking, supporting your and your baby’s health. Call our office or book an appointment online today.