So what exactly is preconception care, and why is it so important?
Preconception care is the steps you take before trying to conceive a baby. It’s super important to prepare your body by detoxifying and strengthening your body. This is important for both men and women, and even if you’re not planning on having a baby, the following tips are useful for general health improvements too.
Firstly, it’s worthwhile detoxifying your body of heavy metals, pesticides, chemicals, and generally just anything nasty that might be lurking in your cells. You can visit a Naturopath and get them to take you through the process of detoxification if you think you might be in a bad state of health. At home, you can help your body to detoxify by removing processed foods, and switching to organic whole foods. I recommend adding broccoli sprouts to your diet, which are known to help your natural detoxification processes. Make sure you drink lots of filtered water to help flush any toxins out. If you suffer from constipation, it’s important to see a practitioner to get a bit of help so that the toxins don’t get reabsorbed through your gut, back into your system.
Once you’ve got into the habit of eating healthy organic foods, your body will naturally start to detoxify. Initially some people feel a little unwell, but when done slowly through diet, you should just start to feel better and better. Now is a great time to incorporate some movement into your lifestyle. You can pick any sort of movement you like. At the moment my chosen exercise involves yoga, walking, and I’m also training to be able to run 5km (check out the free iPhone app called C25K if you want to join me in this goal!). Pick exercise that you enjoy, otherwise you won’t be likely to stick with it. Running isn’t actually my favourite activity, but I do enjoy how I feel afterwards (hello endorphins!) and I’m looking forward to better cardiovascular health to make me feel young and spritely.
The third step in preconception care is to make sure you’re taking the best quality supplements available. Always see a healthcare practitioner to make sure you’re getting the highest quality and most bioavailable supplements. For both men and women this usually includes a multivitamin, and may include other supplements such as Co enzyme Q10 for sperm and egg health.
My eBook on fertility care (available for purchase HERE) includes a more detailed chapter on Preconception Care, with comprehensive steps to prepare your body for parenthood.
