What's Missing in Most Conventional Preconception Prep?
If you’re starting to think about getting pregnant or expanding your family, you probably have some questions. I know I did!
How can I prepare my body?
How can I reduce my risk for common pregnancy complications?
How can I get pregnant faster, when I’m ready?
What are the most common barriers to conceiving and how can I lower my risk for those?
There is a lot of focus on prenatal health (aka mom’s health during pregnancy) with plenty of resources and education available. There’s even been a recent rise in support for women postpartum. However, very little focus is given to the preconception phase.
Preconception advice will vary from provider to provider, which is why it’s important to find an OBGYN you really like, trust and respect. When you’re ready to start trying, it’s important to first have a conversation with your doctor. They are the subject matter experts and are the best place to direct these questions to, you just have to ask! And if you’re like me and have a million questions but forget them all as soon as you walk into your appointment, don’t be afraid to write them down or email them directly so you have answers in writing.
The following points I make in this blog post are observations from my own experience and perspective. I believe, if supplemented with conventional preconception advice, would provide an even higher level of care to women and ultimately improve outcomes for both mom and baby.
What's Missing in Conventional Preconception Advice?
1. Personalized healthy diet and lifestyle intervention
The preconception period is now recognized as being as important as the prenatal period. The preconception phase is defined as the period before pregnancy - typically 3-6 months prior to actively trying to conceive or to conception. It is a precious and finite opportunity for women (and their partners) to optimize their fertility, prepare their bodies and create a healthy environment for new life. Healthy intervention during the preconception phase has been shown to boost fertility of both partners, reduce the risk of common pregnancy complications, impact multi-generational health of your children and improve health outcomes for baby.
2. What if you just got off birth control?
It’s well documented that birth control depletes key nutrients essential for fertility, healthy pregnancy and fetal development including folate, vitamins B2, B6, B12, vitamin C and E and the minerals magnesium, selenium and zinc. It’s important if you’re recently off birth control to allow your body adequate time to replete these nutrients before trying to conceive. Taking a high-quality prenatal vitamin, incorporating a nutrient-dense, fertility-friendly diet and ensuring proper digestive function is important for repleting nutrients depleted by birth control. Check out my post here to read more about transitioning off birth control with the least amount of side effects.
3. A proactive approach
While some women may conceive relatively quickly without much focused effort, this is not the case for all women. If you would like to get pregnant as soon as possible once you’re ready to start trying, there are a few, proactive steps you can take to rule out common barriers to conception and increase your chances of getting pregnant sooner. Why wait 6 to 12 months to find out information you could know now? Running some basic labs, checking your hormones at the right time of the month and ensuring you’re ovulating are a few simple steps you can take. Like I said, preconception prep varies from provider to provider. Preconception lab testing may be standard protocol for some OBGYNs and not for others. Regardless, most OBGYNs are happy to run labs for you, you just have to ask! Here are relevant preconception labs you could ask for from your OBGYN:
Full thyroid panel - TSH, free T3, free T4, Reverse T3 and TPO antibodies
Metabolic markers - fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1C
Inflammation marker - high sensitivity CRP
Hormones - progesterone on day 19-21 of your cycle or 5-7 days after ovulation, DHEA-S, testosterone
Nutrient levels - vitamin D, homocysteine, iron
I also recommend comprehensive micronutrient and hormone testing, if possible!
4. Understanding a healthy hormonal rhythm and your unique cycle
I believe every woman should have a general understanding of her unique cycle and how a healthy hormonal rhythm impacts her ability to conceive. In my opinion, trying to get pregnant without understanding your cycle is like trying to fly blind.
Here are a few simple ways you can start to understand your cycle:
Start using an app to track your cycle (However, do not rely on their ovulation or fertile window prediction. Be sure to check this for yourself because fertile windows are not like clockwork and will vary from woman to woman.)
Look into the “Fertility Awareness Method” (even if you don’t want to use it as a method of contraception, it’s a great way to understand your body and your cycle)
Use at-home Ovulation Predictor Kits to find out when you ovulate and if it varies month to month. Start testing on day 10 of your cycle (day 1 = first day of your period) until you get a positive result confirming ovulation.
Understanding your cycle can help you get pregnant faster or identify a problem more quickly. It can help you be a better advocate for your health, speak confidently with providers and have a greater appreciation for your body.
If you’re enjoying content related to preconception, you might also enjoy my Preconception Prep Checklist. If you’d like to take your preconception prep to the next level with personalized diet and lifestyle intervention, lab testing and more, shoot me a DM on Instagram @itspeachygreen or email me at natalie@peachy-green.com.