Fortunately most women are blessed with the ability to give birth to at least one baby. A baby is the greatest gift a woman can give to her husband, her family and of course, to herself. Having a child automatically creates a family and many already devoted couples feel even closer in their relationship as a result.
When the pregnancy is confirmed beyond doubt, most couples enthusiastically start planning for the birth but planning well in advance of actual conception for a healthy and happy pregnancy is very important.
As a high percentage of women will give birth at some time in their lives, it is important to know about preconception issues even if pregnancy is not being considered, as should become clear later in this article.
Physical as well as mental preparation is needed for giving birth, since pregnancy brings about big changes in to woman's life and lifestyle. Midwives and doctors are normally consulted after pregnancy is confirmed but it highly advisable to get as much advice as possible as soon as a couple start to try for a baby.
To have the best possible chance of producing a healthy baby, seeking preconception advice on such issues as lifestyle changes, prenatal vitamins, and the importance of folic acid, to name just a few, can pay huge dividends for the subsequent health and wellbeing of both mother and baby.
In preparing for pregnancy, some major changes in the woman's lifestyle (and her partner's!) may be needed.
For example taking action to give up smoking far in advance of even becoming pregnant is most important, and drastically reducing or eliminating the consumption of alcohol is considered to be almost equally so. Both of these can affect the health of the mother-to-be and her unborn baby.
A woman might need to lose or gain weight, according to her present weight relative to her height and build which is now measured by her Body Mass Index (BMI). This should ideally be in the range of 20 to 25 but a medical practitioner should be consulted on this matter. Being either overweight or underweight can bring complications for both the mother-to-be and the baby.
When preparing for childbirth, it is also advisable to establish a fitness regime before becoming pregnant. Therefore, consulting a physician about nutrition and exercise is highly recommended as soon as a couple start trying for a baby.
Although pregnancy itself should be a very happy and joyous time, some anxiety and stress can also be felt by the couple since this is a very major step for the woman in particular. Even preconception stress is not unusual in women as such factors as scheduling, sexuality, and maybe even self esteem can become major issues.
When preparing for pregnancy, the father and mother-to-be need to feel confident that they will be capable of doing the best for their precious baby.
As with most major events in anyone's life, the best preparation for pregnancy and childbirth is to get as much sound and up-to-date advice as possible, as far in advance as possible so that they are free to focus on such major issues as choosing the baby's name!
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