How Health Can Affect Pregnancy
When you are planning to have a baby, you should start thinking about boosting your health for easier conception and a safer pregnancy. Remember that the health and lifestyle of both the mother and father can affect pregnancy. Take a look at the following for some health concerns that can affect pregnancy and what to do about them.
Lifestyle Choices
What you consume and expose yourself to can impact fertility. Poor diet, smoking, drinking alcohol, taking illegal drugs, taking certain prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications adversely affect male and female fertility.
Weight
Being overweight or obese can affect your ability to become pregnant and might cause a miscarriage. During pregnancy, overweight women are more prone to macrosomia, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes. You can certainly improve your fertility by losing weight.
Add exercise to your routine by joining a gym or working out at home. Eat healthier foods, like lean protein, fruits, and vegetables. Limit your consumption of sugar and processed food.
If you struggle to manage your weight with exercise and diet, consider bariatric procedures that will not only help you shed some pounds, but also improve fertility. Some procedures are as simple as swallowing a capsule that releases a balloon, so you will feel full when you eat less. If you choose bariatric surgery, not only will it increase your chances of conceiving, you will also be less likely to need a caesarean section when giving birth. Research shows that children of bariatric patients are also less likely to be obese.
Age
Women over the age of 35 run a higher risk of having difficulty conceiving and having miscarriages. Specialists have found that as a woman’s age increases the quality of her eggs will decline.
If you are over 35 and have been trying to conceive for at least six months or have experienced multiple miscarriages, it might be worth visiting a fertility specialist. Some find success when using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) because it allows specialists to select eggs by using genetic screening techniques.
Chronic health conditions
Diabetes, heart conditions, and thyroid disease are some of the top health issues associated with fertility trouble. Serious chronic illnesses, like the autoimmune disease lupus, make conceiving and maintaining a pregnancy difficult. Communicable diseases, like sexually transmitted diseases, can take a toll on your body and reduce your fertility.
Make sure you ask your doctor to test for these issues if you suspect that you might be at risk, are experiencing a long-term problem with conceiving, or recurrent pregnancy loss.
Seasonal risks
Males have to be careful about keeping their body temperature down in warm weather to maintain their fertility. That means wearing loose fitting clothing and avoiding hot tubs.
Flu season is risky for those who are pregnant, especially women who are in the first trimester. Make sure your vaccinations are up-to-date to avoid such issues.
Whether you need to improve your lifestyle choices, manage your weight, visit a fertility specialist, or avoid seasonal risks, there are a few things that you can do to improve your chances of becoming pregnant and having a healthy pregnancy. These tips along with advice from your doctor should improve your chances of starting a family.
My Say
These are the reasons why women might find it difficult to get pregnant. Preparation would always include the health of the parents. As many would know, children’s care starts from conception.
