Preconception Care
Preconception Care | What It Involves? | Who Does It Benefit?
Preconception Care - True Preventative Health Care
Preconception care is true preventative health care. We can help you to prepare a preconception plan that enables you to explore health, lifestyle and environmental issues that may be affecting your health and consequently the potential (future) health of your baby.
We believe healthy people make healthy babies. Preconception planning helps you to identify the health concerns and other issues that prevent you from being the best you can be. The healthier you are, the healthier all your cells are - right down to the eggs and sperm that will form the building blocks of your baby's very structure.
Growing evidence over the past five years indicates that maternal health at conception and during pregnancy is a strong determinant of the health status of adults, especially in relation to their susceptibility to obesity, adult-onset diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Evidence shows that the health of mothers during pregnancy is strongly associated with healthy development and general health in adulthood.
But it is not just women's health that matters. Ample recent research indicates that sperm health is just as important. For example, it is known that male smokers not only have lower sperm counts and more sperm abnormalities affecting their fertility, but their partners are also more likely to experience difficulty getting pregnant and suffer increased rates of miscarriage.
We know environmental and lifestyle factors can have an effect on your health, your fertility, your pregnancy and the health of your unborn child. Everyone wants to give their children the best possible start in life. We consider preconception care to be the ultimate health insurance - taking action now that enables you to maximise both your own and your child's future health and well-being.
Preconception care also involves learning about a healthy lifestyle in a way that is practical and easy to apply - great preparation for becoming a parent and helping you to raise the healthiest child you can!
What Does It Involve? Getting Healthy & Getting Pregnant
While you learn to recognise clear signs of fertility, our Practitioners can help you and your partner to plan for a vital pregnancy and a healthy baby, overcome fertility problems and prevent miscarriage.
Preconception care for both parents can ensure healthy sperm and eggs, and a nurturing environment to enable the best possible outcome for conception and pregnancy. Both female and male fertility problems can also be treated with natural medicine approaches and specific nutritional supplementation.
This approach to health care will help you to feel energetic, healthy, informed and ready to conceive.
Preconception Care is individually tailored to meet each couple's/individual's needs and may involve:
- diet / nutritional advice
- detoxification
- natural medicine for fertility problems and miscarriage prevention
- hair mineral and heavy metal analysis
- environmental / lifestyle changes
- exercise
- stress management
- treatment of other health and vitality concerns
- practical advice and education
- a thorough health screen with your doctor including genito-urinary and other infections
Pre-conception health care (for both partners) can actively help to ensure that your baby:
- is content and alert
- does not suffer from colic
- does not suffer from feeding problems or other common ailments
- will be less likely to suffer from allergies, asthma or behavioural and learning problems
- receives the best possible start in life
Preconception care is appropriate for prospective parents of all ages, stages of life and states of health.
Who Does It Benefit?
Who would benefit from this type of preconception program?
- Normal healthy, fertile couples who want to give their baby the best possible start to life.
- Couples who have general infertility with or without known cause, including problems with sperm count, motility, anovulation, etc.
- Couples who have suffered one or more miscarriages.
- Couples with a previous history of malformation, prematurity, low birth weight, stillbirth or sudden infant death syndrome.
- Couples seeking preconception advice for IVF, GIFT and IUI. ie: couples are preparing for a healthy baby and also hoping to increase the chances of conception where the success rate is already low (25% at best for IVF).
- Older couples including women over 40 years, especially to help prevent Down's syndrome.
Recommended Reading
Getting Pregnant Faster by Dr Marilyn Glenville
For a full book review, follow this LINK.