Conception isn’t always planned, but if you have a timeline in mind for your pregnancy and birth, you should start making adjustments to prepare yourself physically at least three months in advance of when you’d like to conceive. Unii has put together a list of questions to help you.

If you have someone you want to conceive a baby with, are they also willing to prepare physically?

Teamwork makes for dreamwork! Whether you are preparing to conceive the old-fashioned way or going to invest in reproductive technologies, your partner matters. The steps they take to optimise their own health and wellbeing will encourage you to stick to yours, as well as boost your combined chances of healthy conception and pregnancy. Your partner's attendance at your doctor and midwife appointments from preconception onwards will allow them to ask their own questions, share their own information, and generally optimise your sense that you are going through this sometimes challenging process as a team.

Have you booked a preconception checkup?

A preconception checkup is essential to your physical preparation for conception. You need advice specifically tailored to your case to attain the best possible results. For example, while similar antenatal vitamins are recommended for everyone, some mothers need them in different doses. You may need additional supplements or medication you were not aware of because you haven’t had a recent blood or other tests, and the pharmacy, while potentially stocked with a variety of supplements aimed at those trying to conceive, is most useful to you when you have a clear picture of your own profile.

You will also need to make your doctor fully aware of anything in your medical history that they do not already know about, including potentially embarrassing things like difficult or absent periods or STIs from which you’ve long since recovered, as a wide variety of health issues past and present can impact your ability to conceive, as well as the health of your pregnancy and how your healthcare team will help you to prepare for labour and birth.
Your family history is also important when you’re planning conception. There are many fertility, pregnancy, and birth issues that can be inherited. Understanding your risk of passing on genetic problems can also help your doctor give you better preconception and pregnancy advice.
If you are overweight or underweight, you should seek advice about dealing with this from a doctor before trying to conceive rather than attempt to do it alone. Your partner should also be seeking help for his weight if he needs it, as being both underweight and overweight can affect sperm production.
If you smoke or do illegal drugs and feel you will need help to quit these before trying to conceive, your doctor can help you get support (ideally you will have stopped doing both of these things at least three months before trying to get pregnant). Your partner should seek the same support if he is having these problems.
Alcohol and caffeine consumption is something that you will likely be asked about. You should consider quitting alcohol while trying to get pregnant, as your body needs to devote precious resources to compensating for even a small amount of it. Caffeine, while not necessarily a no-no while trying to conceive, should be limited to fewer than 200 mg a day.
You will be asked about vaccinations and any other
Health conditions that you may need to ensure are well managed or treated before attempting to get pregnant should also be discussed. These may include the offer of an ultrasound scan, a cervical screening, and a chlamydia test.

Can you maintain the right diet and supplement intake for you?

We promote the importance of sustaining a healthy diet and proper supplement regimen throughout preconception and pregnancy without always acknowledging that these things don’t come easily to everyone. It may take you and your partner longer than three months to start eating better. You may take longer than most women to adjust to taking supplements daily. Every parent is different, and if you know you’re going to need some time to optimise this aspect of your lifestyle, it’s important to be transparent about it and plan accordingly.

How long will it take you to quit lifestyle habits that make healthy conception harder?

Our culture has normalised alcohol consumption to the extent that doing it daily is common. Alcohol is a toxin that your body needs to focus on processing to clear out (when it could be doing other things, like cellular repair). It causes dehydration and inflammation that are unhelpful to your preconception goal. Studies suggest that more than four drinks a week are harmful to a woman who is trying to conceive, but in order to optimise your chances of conception success, we suggest you try to cut it out completely. The male partner’s drinking can also impact conception, as well as the health of your pregnancy and baby. As with food, you may not be able to quit right away, and it’s important to make a realistic timeline for conception.

You should also take steps to reduce or eliminate the toxins in your environment, which can include a wide variety of behavioural changes, from avoiding dringking from plastic and cooking with non-stick pans (both of which have been shown to impact female fertility) to avoiding sulphate in your beauty and personal care products. These things can be hard (and sometimes expensive) for women to ditch quickly, so factor them into your preconception planning.

Have you considered the spacing of pregnancy?

Intervals between pregnancies are important for a mother’s health and safety, as well as her baby’s.

It is recommended that you wait 18 to 24 months after a live birth (the advice your doctor gives you about a miscarriage or stillbirth will be different) before attempting another pregnancy. For mum, the uterus needs time to heal after a pregnancy, and getting pregnant again with too short an interval can increase your risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, placental problems, and preeclampsia.

It is also best not to wait too long—research suggests that attempting to get pregnant more than five years after your last pregnancy increases your risk of developing pre-eclampsia, premature birth, and having a baby who is small for their gestational week of birth.

Do you have time to exercise regularly?

Daily exercise plays an important role in your physical fitness and also helps to regulate your hormones, which is important whether you are conceiving naturally or not. The time per day can be adjusted to your schedule, but the weekly guidance from the NHS and several other reputable sources is to aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise, which is about half an hour daily.

Are you managing any underlying conditions?

Your preconception checkup should involve a thorough discussion of any health issues, as well as prescriptions and follow-ups as required. As we’ve mentioned, an extremely long list of maternal health conditions can affect your ability to get pregnant and sustain a healthy pregnancy, including things that seem like they should have nothing to do with the parts of you that make a baby, such as poorly controlled asthma and diabetes.

Problematic or irregular periods should always be investigated, as they make it so hard to time sex for when you’re ovulating and can also be indicative of polycystic ovaries, excessive stress, perimenopause, and a number of other conditions that will make it harder for you to conceive.

Can you manage your stress (and tune out the horror stories)?

Stress management plays an important role in both getting pregnant and the health of your pregnancy and birth. Chronic stress can cause fertility and pregnancy and birth complications. It is far easier to type that you need to find more ways to relax every day than to actually do it, we know, especially if stress is something you cannot remove from your work and personal lives. As with changing your diet and personal habits, it may take you longer than the recommended three months to get on top of your stress.

Acupuncture, yoga, and meditation are often recommended to couples who are trying to get pregnant. There’s no set date to begin learning hypnobirthing techniques, and if you know you want to try it, you may find learning the breathing techniques and relaxations helps you. Eating well and quitting or reducing your caffeine intake, as is recommended for couples trying to conceive, can also help with sleep and anxiety.

In addition, you may like to make a conscious effort to cut out negative information from other people, even when their attempts to share it are well-meant. Every parent’s journey is different, and while it’s kind of others to share their personal experiences, in the long run you will benefit from focussing on your personal journey.

Where is your village?

Many of our mothers and grandmothers were blessed with a local network of supportive people they can trust with personal matters and lean on during preconception and pregnancy. In our modern world, where we are quicker to associate the word “community” with phones and social media than with neighbours, connecting with a network that is not somehow public is more challenging. It’s important to have people you’re comfortable with who you know you can go for a cup of tea with on a bad day, as well as others who will definitely pick up the phone in a crisis. If you and your partner struggle to make a short list, your doctor or local hospital or fertility clinic may be able to provide advice on local groups that can offer support.

Have you subscribed to unii.com?

We offer a Preconception Journey video course designed to support you with your conception planning, led by award-winning obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr. Shree Datta.

How can I prepare my body to conceive a baby?

Unii looks at how to optimise your physical health for getting pregnant.