Eight Unhealthy Habits You Need To Quit Before Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a crucial time of your life, and you can ruin it due to some unhealthy habits. However, you can ensure a healthy pregnancy with healthy habits. Healthy mamas carry the baby full-term and give birth to a hale and hearty baby. So, if you are thinking about conceiving a baby now or planning it for a year from now, it is better to kick the bad habits instead of waiting for your pregnancy to take you by surprise.

Quitting these unhealthy habits at once can be quite difficult, but if you work slowly and shed one unhealthy habit at a time, the task can become pretty doable. The readier your body is, the easier it is to conceive. Here are some unhealthy habits you must quit before getting pregnant.

1. Drinking Alcohol

This is the most important change you must bring into your life. The moment you think about conceiving a baby is the time to put a full stop to your drinking habit. There is a lot of research that links drinking with fertility issues. Women who drink seven or more drinks a week have irregular periods and fertility issues. Drinking is also detrimental to ovulation, making it difficult to get pregnant.

As for the issues of drinking during pregnancy, research has shown drinking can cause many lifelong health problems for your baby. Your child may suffer from intellectual, behavioral, and physical issues. It might be quite difficult to suddenly quit drinking when you are already pregnant. Therefore, it is recommended to start working on it before conception. If you are struggling to kick this habit, take professional help from rehabs such as the Palm Beach Institute, where experts can help fight your urges, detox your body, and quit drinking.

2. Smoking

No one is oblivious to the health hazards of smoking. But adverse effects are more profound for pregnant women. Women who don’t quit smoking are twice as likely to experience a delay in getting pregnant and have about 30% more chance of infertility than women who don’t display this habit. Smoking can result in stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight, facial feature abnormalities, etc.

A smoker must give up smoking during pregnancy, but it is recommended to quit smoking before getting pregnant. Depending on how addicted you are to smoking, it may take some time to get rid of it. Therefore, work on it as early as possible if you don’t want any complications during pregnancy.

Professional help is recommended to help quit smoking, but if you do it on your own, start at least four weeks before trying to conceive to ensure you can do it. It will also allow enough time for the medication to work and clean your body.

3. Excessive Fruit Juices And Soda Intake

Soda and packaged fruit juices are high in sugar content; therefore, they can raise blood sugar levels. Thus, they can negatively impact a women’s ability to conceive. Therefore, limit your fruit juices and soda intake well before getting pregnant. Starting sometime before pregnancy means you have time to work on it rather than quitting cold turkey after getting a positive pregnancy test.

Also, eliminate trans fats from your body as their excess consumption is linked with infertility too. Before bringing anything to your house, read labels to make sure you are not consuming trans fats without knowing.

4. Partying All Night

If you and your husband like clubbing and partying all night, it is time to address this issue before getting pregnant. Transitioning from Partying all night to sitting home sober during pregnancy is a big change. Therefore, it will require dedication and gradual change in your habits. Incremental change is necessary because it is often long-lasting; it also helps your partner process the changes in his life once he has a baby.

When both spouses quit partying, they can support and help each other stay focused on the goal. Instead of clubbing, you can stay home, fix a nice meal and enjoy yourselves together.

5. Eating Fish High In Mercury

The FDA recommends that pregnant women be cautious about eating certain fish, including sharks, swordfish, king mackerel, etc., as they have high mercury content. To be safe, pregnant women should also limit their consumption of low-mercury fish like salmon, tuna, and shrimp.

Excessive mercury is unsuitable for a baby’s nervous system and developing brain. Although there is no recommendation for women who are not yet pregnant, adhering to the same guidelines can help develop the right habits.

6. Not Taking Enough Folic Acid

Folic acid is necessary for preventing congenital disabilities in the baby’s spine and head. The recommended quantity of folic acid for pregnant women is 400 mg daily. You can take folic acid pills or add food that contains folic acid. Most prenatal vitamins given to pregnant women are designed to fulfill their daily folic acid requirement. Other than that, foods that contain folic acid include leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, whole grains, folate-enriched cereals, bread, and beans.

Experts advise you to increase your folic acid intake at least three months before getting pregnant.

7. Making Unwise Food Choices

You are what you eat; the same goes for your baby. Therefore, stop making unwise food choices for your and your baby’s betterment. If your food contains high fat and sugar, try to change your diet plan. Choose your food from the five food groups: fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and dairy products. Avoid sugary drinks but keep your body adequately hydrated. These choices help a lot when you are in the trying-to-conceive phase. Once pregnant, it helps in an easier and healthier pregnancy.

8. Not Asking For Help

You might be habitual of doing everything yourself, but lowering your “Miss independent” attitude before and during pregnancy helps a lot. Before conceiving a baby, learn to ask for and accept help from others so you can do the same during pregnancy. For instance, If you are cooking and your guests or partner offers support, don’t hesitate; you will need these helping hands a lot when pregnant. If no one offers help, ask for it yourself so that people around you know how it will be during pregnancy. Communicate with your partner and family about how they can help you and how much you would appreciate their assistance.

Conclusion

Getting pregnant might be the biggest joy of a woman’s life. Thinking about bringing a new life into this world is exhilarating. But conceiving a baby requires you to be careful too. To ensure a healthy pregnancy and the time leading to it, you must drop all your unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking, bringing on fast food, and partying. These little sacrifices can be very fruitful for yourself and your baby.