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Tips
for the first trimester
Choose a health-care provider.
Gynaecologists, nurses and family physicians help in delivering and offer
prenatal and postnatal care. Also remember to confirm your benefits with
your employer.
Decide where you want to give birth.
Women deliver babies at hospitals or at home. Tour various hospitals, ask
questions, check facilities provided and talk to other mothers. As your
pregnancy progresses, if your initial choice doesn't feel right, don't be
afraid to change your plan.
Take an early pregnancy class.
Learn about good nutrition, exercise and body image.
Eat as well as you can.
You must also take your prenatal vitamins and drink plenty of water and
fluids.
Don't let morning sickness get you down.
This should be resolved by the end of the first trimester.
Discuss prenatal testing with your gynaecologist.
Start a journal.
Jot down your thoughts, dreams and feelings. You'll enjoy looking back at
your diary once the baby arrives.
 Fertility
and Conception Tips
You
hope to get pregnant soon?
Here's
a list of all you should know about increasing your chances of conceiving
and starting off on a healthy pregnancy.
Begin taking folic acid at least two to three
months before you start trying to conceive. It reduces the chances of
your having a baby with a neural tube defect.
Lie down for at least five minutes after you have
intercourse to allow the sperm to make their rendezvous with the waiting
egg. Don't make a beeline for the bathroom soon after sex.
Your fertile period is the five days
leading up to ovulation. Make the most of it. Frequent lovemaking
during this time gives you a better chance of conceiving.
Quit smoking (in case you still haven't). Even
10 cigarettes a day reduce your chances by 50%.
Coffee can be a culprit! Some studies show
that excessive consumption of caffeine may contribute to fertility
problems. The studies are still disputed though.
How safe is your workplace? No, you are not going to
try for a baby there, but if you or your partner are exposed to hazardous
substances at your workplace, it might affect the quality of sperm
and the development of the embryo.
Start keeping a menstrual calendar. Note the
date that your period starts, the number of days that it lasts and
anything else that your doctor might want to know about it. The
information will be invaluable in pinpointing your due date and if you
have problems in conceiving.
Exercise, but don't go overboard. Studies show
that too much of exercise can lead to fertility problems such as
irregular periods, anovulatory cycles (cycles in which ovulation doesn't
occur) and luteal phase deficiencies (when the second half of your cycle
is not long enough to allow for the proper implantation of the
fertilized egg).
If you are taking any prescription or
over-the-counter drugs, consult your doctor to find out if it's
safe to continue taking them once you start trying to conceive.
For those who hate diets, baby-making could be a
pleasurable exercise. For it is an absolute no-no to crash diets,
starving, binging, purging or yo-yo diets.
Try sex in the living room or sex in the
morning. The point is to try and make sex fun and enjoyable.
Baby-making is a numbers game. Even if you do
everything 'right', the chances of you conceiving are 25% to 30%
in each cycle.
Keep trying and enjoy
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