We’ll say it again—if you’re picking up this book before pregnancy, you are brilliant! Now is the time to get your beautiful body in shape. Ideally, give yourself at least three months to make your body the perfect home for your baby. While you’re trying to conceive, eating a healthy well-balanced diet, taking a prenatal vitamin or folic acid supplement, and getting exercise are essential. As you probably know, your baby’s major organs and systems begin developing at the point of conception and throughout the first eight weeks of pregnancy.
• Get prenatal care before you conceive. Inform your health-care provider of your desire to start a family and discuss your general health and any concerns you may have. Inform your doctor of all medications, vitamins, supplements (natural and synthetic), birth control pills, or other substances you are taking, including Accutane or Retin-A.
• Start your prenatal vitamin or folic acid supplement in preparation for conception. Ideally, start taking a folic acid supplement at least one month, and up to three months, before conception. Because half of all pregnancies are unplanned, a daily folic acid supplement of at least 600 micrograms is advisable for all women of childbearing age, especially for women who are trying to conceive.
• Aim to be a healthy weight before pregnancy. Why? One of the biggest reasons is that it will help you control your weight gain during pregnancy. It could also help prevent high blood pressure and gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Plus, a healthy lifestyle will help you lose weight after delivery. Hard to think that far ahead, but you should. On the other hand, if you are underweight and your doctor advises you to gain weight, ask about goals and how best to meet them. Underweight women can have a harder time conceiving. They are also more at risk for premature delivery and babies with a low birth weight.
• Modify your daily diet to enhance fertility. Prime your body for conception with the proper nutrients. See here to here for information on the nutrients you need and where to get them.
• Make exercise a daily habit. If you needed a push—this is it! Getting physically fit before pregnancy will most likely allow you to exercise throughout your pregnancy, and soon after delivery. Likewise, not being in shape can lead to difficulty when trying to begin an exercise routine during pregnancy, and it can make delivery and postpregnancy weight loss significantly more difficult.
• Stop smoking and vaping, please, please, please. If you need help, don’t be shy to ask your care team. Freeing yourself from a nicotine addiction can be very difficult. But there is lots of help out there for you. Although there are no conclusive studies reporting that smoking interferes with conception, quitting smoking will improve your health.
• Stop drinking alcohol. Since you don’t know when the magic moment of conception will occur, it is advisable to avoid all alcohol while trying to get pregnant. If you think you may need help, please seek treatment. Heavy drinking can lower your chances of conception and damage your health and the health of your baby.
• Reduce caffeine. Some research shows that caffeine can impair your chances of conception and possibly increase your chances of miscarriage. Studies show that pregnant women who consumed more than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day (about 2 cups of coffee) had twice the risk of miscarriage as women who consumed no caffeine at all.
• If you are entering pregnancy with diabetes or prediabetes, get your blood glucose in good control. Aim to keep them in an ideal range at least three to six months before conception. If you are at risk for developing gestational diabetes, work with your doctor to create a plan to reduce or mitigate some of the risk factors that you have control over, such as weight loss, exercise, and diet. Obviously, certain things, such as family history of diabetes, ethnicity, and age, are beyond your control. For lots more information on diabetes during pregnancy, see here.
• If you’ve had bariatric surgery or any other gastrointestinal issues, your doctor will evaluate any nutritional disturbances that should be corrected before conception and into pregnancy (see “Obesity During Pregnancy,” here).
• If you have an eating disorder or any other condition that could cause infertility or delay conception, please inform your doctors and they will work with you to overcome any foreseeable obstacles.
A quick word about exercise before, during, and after pregnancy. Leading up to pregnancy, there are almost no precautions, unless you fall into any of the following categories, or you are advised not to exercise for any reason. Exercise in moderation is a great thing during pregnancy, but consult with your doctor on appropriate exercise for you at different stages of your pregnancy. If in doubt, always ask before beginning a new routine.
• Women with a history of miscarriage
• Women who have experienced preterm labor in this or a previous pregnancy
• Women who have obstetrical complications, including an incompetent cervix, ruptured membranes (broken bag of water), or vaginal bleeding
• Women with diabetes or those who develop gestational diabetes (see here)
• Women with preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced high blood pressure
• Women whose fetus is not growing as rapidly as it should be
• Women carrying multiples
• Women with any other pregnancy complication
CAFFEINE CHART 2
COFFEE (8 OUNCES)
ITEMS: Brewed
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 95–165
ITEMS: Decaffeinated, brewed
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 2–5
ITEMS: Instant
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 63
ITEMS: Decaffeinated, instant
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 2
ITEMS: Espresso (single)
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 47–64
ITEMS: Latte or mocha
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 63–123
TEA (8 OUNCES)
ITEMS: Brewed, black
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 25–48
ITEMS: Brewed, green
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 25–29
ITEMS: Decaffeinated, black
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 2–5
ITEMS: Ready-to-drink bottle (8 ounces)
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 5–40
ITEMS: Energy drink (8 ounces)
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 27–164
ITEMS: Energy shot (1 ounce)
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 40–100
ITEMS: Soda, cola (8 ounces)
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 24–46
ITEMS: Hershey’s chocolate reduced-fat milk
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 2
ITEMS: Hershey’s cocoa powder (1 tablespoon)
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 8
ITEMS: Hershey’s milk chocolate (1.6-oz piece)
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 9
ITEMS: Dannon coffee yogurt (6 ounces)
MILLIGRAMS OF CAFFEINE: 30
Getting your body prepped for pregnancy is just plain smart. The fantastic news is that all of the foods that are good for you are also perfect for your partner and the rest of your family. Adding them into your daily meal plan is a win for everyone!
During preconception, your nutritional focus is on cell structure and genetic material, just as it will be in the first months of your pregnancy. These nutrients are your best friends for supporting your baby’s cell, brain, and nervous system development.
• B vitamins: cell division, brain formation, nervous system development, and morning sickness
• Folate: neural tube development
• Phosphorus: genetic material
• Selenium: cell structure
• Vitamin A: cell structure
• Vitamin E: cell structure and genetic material
• Zinc: cell structure and genetic material
OPTIMAL FOODS FOR PRECONCEPTION
PROTEIN
Eggs
Meats
Nuts: almonds, cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, walnuts and nut butters
Pork
Poultry
Seafood (fish and shellfish): salmon, tuna, sardines in oil
Seeds: sunflower, pumpkin, chia, flaxseed
Tofu and tempeh
DAIRY
Cheese: goat and ricotta
Enriched plant-based milks (rice soy, and almond)
Fortified dairy milk
Yogurt
GRAINS/LEGUMES
All-bran cereal and other fortified breakfast cereals
Beans: black, navy, pinto, kidney, white, great northern, black-eyed, pink, cranberry, and cannellini
Chickpeas
Corn tortillas
Edamame
Folic acid–fortified products
Lentils
Oatmeal
Peanuts
Wheat germ
Whole grains: quinoa, barley, brown rice, bulgur, and whole wheat couscous
VEGETABLES
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avocados
Baked potato with skin on
Beets
Broccoli and broccoli rabe
Brussels sprouts
Butternut squash
Carrots
Dark, leafy greens: kale, collards, mustard, and Swiss chard
Mushrooms
Pumpkin
Red bell peppers
Romaine lettuce
Spinach
Sweet potatoes
FRUITS
Bananas
Cantaloupe
Citrus fruits: oranges, tangerines, grapefruit
Dried apricots
Mangoes
FATS/OTHER
Brewer’s or nutritional yeast
Olive oil
Omega-3s
This preconception chapter does not have its own set of recipes. Use Month 1’s recipes or any others throughout this book to meet your nutritional needs before you get pregnant. Remember, while we’re putting the spotlight on certain nutrients during each month, all the recipes in this book are appropriate for any stage of preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum.