Fertility and Conception : The Future Parents' Essential Guide to Ensuring Fertility and Conceiving a Healthy Baby - Softcover

Trewinnard, Karen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1903258634 ISBN 13: 9781903258637

Publisher: Carroll & Brown, 2003

Synopsis

Getting pregnant and ensuring that your baby has the best start in life requires careful planning, which needs to start well in advance of conception. Containing advice on every facet of preconception care, this book shows you how to safeguard your reproductive health, explains how conception works and helps you interpret your fertility signals to increase your chances of conceiving. It provides information on the optimum diet, including all the essential vitamins and minerals, how to adopt the healthiest possible lifestyle as you prepare for pregnancy, and, finally, counsels on what to do if pregnancy isn't happening soon enough.

About this title

About the Author

Karen Trewinnard, M.D., has developed an expertise in prepregnancy counseling in her 14 years' experience working in family planning clinics. The author of The Woman Alive Family Health Guide, she now runs a preconception planning clinic and lectures widely on preconception health. A regular contributor to many trade and consumer magazines, she lives in Southampton, England.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

When my husband and I decided to start a family 21 years ago, no one suggested that I could prepare myself for conception. In fact, doctors and parents alike believed that the best way to help a woman have a healthy baby and pregnancy was to provide her with good prenatal care from about the 12th week of pregnancy. So, when I was expecting my first daughter I just prayed she would be healthy and that my dreadful morning, noon and night sickness would soon stop. By the time I had my first prenatal check-up, I realized my newly conceived baby was already fully formed and development from that stage was mostly a matter of growth. But I had a nagging feeling that I could have done more to prepare myself for the miraculous event of pregnancy.

Before my next baby -- our son -- was conceived, I decided to investigate whether a woman's health before pregnancy could affect its outcome. Although very little research had been conducted on preconception care programs, I was amazed at my findings -- the medical journals carried plenty of evidence that factors such as low body weight or paternal smoking could increase the risk of miscarriage or of giving birth to an underweight baby. I had been underweight at the time of my daughter's conception and I now believe this made me prone to morning sickness. My body was struggling to cope with the demands of pregnancy and had little in the way of reserve.

When I became pregnant for the second time, my weight was normal and I made sure my diet was full of vitamins. I felt so much better during that pregnancy, was hardly sick at all and my son was born healthy and full of energy.

I have since had two more children and my 20 years' experience as a doctor has ranged from dealing with tiny babies in special care units to treating women in a variety of gynecology and family planning clinics, many of whom are hoping to conceive. Despite the medical advances in treating infertility, a natural conception is still far more likely to result in a successful pregnancy. I frequently see couples with fertility problems who have been helped to conceive by simply improving their general health rather than undergoing expensive and stressful fertility treatments. Of course no one can guarantee that you will instantly conceive and produce a perfectly healthy baby, but even while your future baby is still just a longing or merely a twinkle in your eye, you and your partner can both be taking steps toward a healthy conception.

This book will help you understand the marvelous process of fertility in men and women, the miraculous events of conception, and the first weeks of a baby's development. It is full of practical advice covering every area of your health -- from the optimum diet to reducing your stress levels -- so that you can produce healthy sperm and ova, provide a safe and nurturing environment in utero and make sure your baby has the best possible start in life.

I am thrilled that you have taken the time to pick up this book because by taking care of your health before conception, you and your partner are no longer leaving your baby's health in the hands of fate. Congratulations on believing that you can make a difference... and now read on!

Dr. Karen Trewinnard, BM MFFP

Edition details

• Publisher: Carroll & Brown
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1903258634
• ISBN 13: 9781903258637
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192