It is never too early to plan for your pregnancy. It is important for your body to be in good physical condition before you try to conceive. Your chances for a successful conception increase when you eat right, exercise regularly and treat your body responsibly. It is important to cut out all substances that could be harmful to your unborn child, such as smoking, drinking or drug use. It is also important to have a basic understanding of how the female reproductive system works. Without this knowledge, it is difficult to pick up subtle signals from your body that can help you to predict when you are ovulating or when you have achieved pregnancy.

EATING RIGHT

If you are like most people, you probably skip a meal occasionally, or maybe even every day. This can actually harm your fertility. Eating nutritiously and regularly can help you get pregnant faster by providing your body with the essential vitamins and nutrients it needs. A healthy diet can also help to counteract many harmful affects from pollution, smoking and alcohol. Follow the daily recommendations set forth in the Food Pyramid to the right.

One of the most important nutrients that you can include in your daily diet is folic acid. You can either eat foods rich in this nutrient or take supplements. High levels of folic acid can be found in dark green vegetables, oranges, corn, cauliflower, nuts, seeds, wheat germ, bran and whole-grain cereals. Many doctors will recommend a daily intake of folic acid four to six months prior to planning your baby's conception. Studies have proven that women who take at least 400 mcg of folic acid both before and during pregnancy reduce their risk of neural tube defects by up to 70%. The neural tube consists of the brain and spinal cord of a developing baby, and defects can cause problems such as spina bifida. The neural tube begins to form on day 19 of a pregnancy. At this point, many women are not yet aware that they are even pregnant and can put their baby at risk unknowingly if they are not caring for themselves properly.

Many doctors will recommend prenatal vitamins as part of your daily routine before you try to conceive. Prenatal vitamins have all of the necessary vitamins and nutrients to help you achieve a healthy pregnancy. Do not try to replace meals with supplemental vitamins. Make sure your prenatal vitamin contains folic acid. Some women find that these vitamins can cause stomach irritation until their body is used to taking them. Try to take it with a meal to help avoid this problem. Always follow the directions on the bottle and never take more supplements than directed. You can overdose on certain vitamins and can be hazardous to your fertility and overall health. Talk to your doctor first if you are unsure which prenatal vitamin is best for you.

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EXERCISE

Exercise is another important component to achieving a healthy pregnancy. It is a good idea to begin an exercise program before you try to conceive. It is much harder on your body and your baby if you wait until you are already pregnant to begin exercising. Regular exercise can decrease the amount of aches and pains that you experience once you are pregnant. When your muscles are toned, your body copes with labor and delivery well and you will have a shorter recovery from the birth of your baby.

When starting a new exercise program, do not try to overdo it. The old saying, "No pain, no gain" is not a good motto to keep in mind, especially when you are trying to conceive. Working out excessively can actually halt your menstrual cycle and create more problems for you. If you are not used to physical activity, you should consult your doctor first before beginning an exercise program. Your doctor can help you to find a routine that suits you best.

Just because you are going to start exercising, it does not necessarily mean that you have to head for the gym and struggle with weights for two hours every day. There are many ways to get fit. Pick an activity that you can have fun with and that will keep you motivated. Walking for 20 minutes three to four times a week can have an enormous, positive impact on your health. Swimming is a great form of exercise too. It is a low-impact sport, and low-impact sports are what you need to focus on once you become pregnant. It is not safe to continue any high-impact sports or exercises once you have successfully conceived. High-impact sports pose a high risk for injury, plus they can raise your body temperature to an unsuitable level for a healthy pregnancy.

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THINGS TO AVOID WHEN PLANNING FOR PREGNANCY

There are many things that you expose yourself to each day that can be harmful to a pregnancy. You need to be aware of what you are exposed to while you are trying to conceive and especially once you are pregnant. It is easy to control what you put into your own body, but it isn't always as easy to control the environment around you and the effects it has on your body. Here is a basic list of things to avoid when you are planning for pregnancy. As always, use common sense regarding exposure to things that are not listed here.

Medication - Try to avoid any unnecessary over-the-counter and prescription medications when you are planning for pregnancy. Prescription medications should be discussed with your doctor before continuing them once you are pregnant. You will need to decide if the benefits of the medication outweigh the risk to your baby. Your doctor can help you decide this and weigh all of the pros and cons with you. Over-the-counter medication should also be discussed with your doctor. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is generally safe to take when absolutely necessary. Aspirin and ibuprofin should be avoided.

Smoking / Drinking / Recreational drugs- We all know that smoking and alcohol consumption is not safe while you are pregnant. Try to quit smoking several months before you try to conceive. It can cause low birth weight in babies and has been linked to an increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Drinking can cause birth defects and can increase your risk of miscarriage.

Radiation- Ultrasound is a commonly used procedure in pregnant women. It is painless and non-invasive. The only bad part about this test is the requirement to have a full bladder. This test can provide information about the sex of your baby, if you are carrying multiples, if your baby is malformed, if your baby has a regular heartbeat and the condition of your uterus, cervix and the placenta. It can also help determine the cause of any questionable bleeding.

Caffeine intake- When you are trying to conceive, you should start to cut down your caffeine intake. High quantities of caffeine can actually impair your fertility. Once you are pregnant, cut out caffeine altogether. It can restrict the growth of your baby. Try drinking decaffeinated coffees or teas. Don't forget that chocolate contains a high level of caffeine. As hard as it may sound, you will need to restrict your intake of this sinful treat.

Work hazards- Work-related hazards can be dangerous as well. If you are exposed to radiation or chemicals at work, you might want to think about what your options would be if you were to become pregnant. If you work with chemicals, find out what effects they have on pregnancy and talk to your doctor about them. Perhaps your employer will be willing to work with you to keep your exposure at a minimum once you become pregnant. Or you may have to consider a job change.

Physical overexertion or overexercising- While it is important to exercise to remain healthy, don't overdo it! Excessive exercise can actually affect your cycles and thus affect your ability to conceive. If your job is physically demanding, try to take frequent breaks so you do not overstress your body.

Environmental pollutants- Any type of pollutant can pose a threat to fertility and to a pregnancy. Stay indoors on days when the air quality is poor.

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HOW YOUR BODY WORKS - Your Monthly Cycle

First, we will review some basics about your cycle. Your cycle can be broke up into two phases: Follicular phase and luteal phase. The follicular phase consists of the first half of your cycle. This part of your cycle is not defined by a certain number of days. If you have a textbook, 28 day cycle, then your follicular phase lasts around 14 days. However, most women do not have textbook cycles so the length of this phase is variable. For example, this phase can last 10 days if you have short cycles or it can last 30 days if you have long cycles. The follicular phase starts the first day of your period and lasts until ovulation. Once ovulation has occurred, your follicular phase ends and you enter the luteal phase. The luteal phase typically lasts 14 days. This number in days is not set in stone but it should not vary more than a day or two either way. If it varies any more or any less, then you may suffer from luteal phase defect which can affect your ability to conceive. Your luteal phase starts immediately following ovulation and ends the last day of your cycle, or the day before the first day of your next period.

Now onto the more complicated and somewhat confusing aspect of your cycle: Hormones. Hormones are responsible for many aspects of being a woman. They are to blame for our moodiness, our food cravings and our period. Hormones give us our sex drive and orchestrate our menstruation and ovulation. It is best to have a basic understanding of how your hormones work together to promote ovulation and ultimately, pregnancy. This basic knowledge will help you to understand what your body is doing during your cycle and why.

Your pituitary gland within your brain produces two hormones called follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH, and luteinizing hormone, or LH. These two hormones are always present in your bloodstream, but in varying amounts, depending on where you are in your monthly cycle. On the first day of your cycle, your pituitary is signaled to increase production of FSH. The increased levels of FSH in the bloodstream stimulate the follicles within the ovary to produce eggs. As a general rule, only one of your ovaries will be stimulated to produce eggs during each cycle. Each ovary takes a turn, however they do not follow a strict order. It's not always left, right, left, right, etc. For example, the right one may produce eggs for two cycles in a row and then the left ovary may produce eggs for the following cycle, etc. As the eggs develop within the follicles, estrogen is released from these follicles. The increase in estrogen stimulates the growth of the lining in your uterus. This lining is very important in achieving pregnancy. It has to be thick enough to support the implantation of a fertilized egg. If hormone levels are too low or too high, the lining of the uterus can be affected and prevent the egg from successfully implanting. This would result in a miscarriage. Out of all of the eggs that are growing in the follicles during this stage of the cycle, only one egg will grow large enough and strong enough to be released. As this egg nears maturity, there is a surge of estrogen. The pituitary is stimulated by this surge and in turn, releases a large amount of LH into the bloodstream. This is the LH surge that the over-the-counter ovulation predictor tests are looking for. This LH surge causes the egg to be released from the follicle and into the uterine (fallopian) tube. The release of the egg is called ovulation. Some women experience slight cramping when they ovulate. For 12-24 hours following ovulation, the egg awaits fertilization in the uterine tube. This is your last chance for conception. If you have not had intercourse yet in hopes of conceiving, you better do it now! You have to plan that the egg is only viable for 12-24 hours, yet it takes the sperm up to 24 hours to make the long journey from the vagina to the egg. If the egg is lucky enough to be fertilized, it will slowly make its way down the uterine tube to the uterus and and eventually prepare itself for implantation. If the egg is not fertilized within 24 hours, it will disintegrate. Immediately following ovulation, both FSH and LH levels drop sharply and remain low until the cycle is repeated the following month. The follicle that is left behind by the released egg is now called the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum begins to produce progesterone immediately following ovulation. Progesterone helps to soften the lining of the uterus and aid in implantation. The corpus luteum continues to make progesterone and estrogen for fourteen days following ovulation. If you become pregnant, these two hormones will help maintain the lining of the uterus and help to prevent miscarriage. If no implantation has occurred after the fourteen days, the progesterone and estrogen levels drop rapidly. This drop in progesterone and estrogen levels causes the lining of your uterus to slough off. This sloughing is called menstruation.

Many women rely on charting methods to track ovulation. The three most common methods of charting involve tracking your basal body temperature (BBT), your cervical position and your cervical mucous . All three are directly affected by estrogen and progesterone.

You can see in the chart above how BBT relates to your cyclic hormone levels. It is directly related to your estrogen and progesterone levels. During your follicular phase your temperature remains low, usually between 97.0 and 97.8. During this phase, estrogen levels are higher than progesterone in your bloodstream. The higher level of estrogen is directly responsible for your low temperature. Once ovulation has occurred and you enter your luteal phase, progesterone levels increase rapidly. The rise in your progesterone level causes your temperature to increase and typically ranges from 98.0 to 98.6. Your temperature remains high until the end of your cycle when progesterone levels begin to fall. Your temperature falls in conjunction with your falling progesterone levels. Menstruation usually begins within a day or two following this decline in progesterone.

Estrogen and progesterone are also directly related to cervical position and cervical mucous production. During your follicular phase, estrogen is responsible for your cervix to remain low, firm and closed in your vagina. During beginning of this phase, your cervix does not produce any mucous. As your estrogen levels increase, your cervix begins to produce varying types of mucous. About 5-7 days prior to ovulation, you may begin to see a creamy cervical mucous. About 1-3 days prior to ovulation, your cervical mucous will become slippery, similar to raw eggwhite. This slippery mucous is termed fertile cervical mucous, commonly called eggwhite cervical mucous (EWCM). Immediately prior to ovulation your cervix becomes soft, high and open and remains that way until ovulation has occurred. Once ovulation has occurred and estrogen levels fall, your cervix returns to its preovulatory position in the vagina. It is low, firm and closed. Falling estrogen levels also affect your mucous production. Your cervical mucous dries up and returns to its pre-ovulatory state.

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