by Peg Plumbo, CNM
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Learn 10 ways to get the best start for a healthy, happy pregnancy
1. Share your dreams and visions with your partner. Ask your partner about his hopes for the future. Spend time with children and babies and couples with babies. Talk about childspacing and discipline styles. Talk with your partner about what is important in your life and what will become important when you are parents. Talk about religious upbringing, family rituals, family finances, your own parenting and childhood issues.
2. Plan your pregnancy. Use a contraceptive and protect yourself against unintentional pregnancy and against sexually transmitted infections until you and your partner are sure -- or as sure as anyone ever is -- that you want to be parents.
3. Give yourself some time. Consider spacing your pregnancies by three years or more. Babies need to be babies and deserve parents’ attention for a few years before sharing you with another sibling. Mothers are more rested, have better nutrient stores and have fewer pregnancy and postpartum complications when childbearing is intentionally spaced.
4. Start taking folic acid. Start supplementing with around 400 micrograms of folic acid each day while you are trying to conceive and for the first three months of pregnancy. This can significantly reduce the risk of neural tube defects.
5. Care for your body. Begin a healthy diet and exercise regimen. Brisk walking for 30 minutes a day is an excellent way to get into shape, and is a routine that can be extended into pregnancy. Remember that the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, smoking, prescription medications and even misuse of over-the-counter drugs may harm your baby or impair your ability to conceive.
6. Stop using the Pill and IUD. Plan on discontinuing oral contraceptive use about three months before trying to get pregnant. If you get pregnant the next month after taking pills, don’t be concerned. The pill does not cause an increased risk of problems, but it may be easier to date a pregnancy after several “normal” cycles. IUDs should also be removed two to three months before attempting a conception.
7. Shop for your care provider. Most consumers have more influence than they believe. If your health plan does not offer the services you desire, many will pay for you to go elsewhere. Investigate options in obstetric care. Certified nurse midwives have been shown to be safe, compassionate providers of well-woman, family planning, pregnancy, birth and postpartum services.
8. Schedule a preconception visit. If your care provider doesn't feel this visit is important, look elsewhere. Discuss risk factors in your own health, your family and in your partner which may affect your pregnancy or the health of your baby. Seek out the counsel of a genetic counselor if you have questions related to inheritance.
9. Get prenatal care early! Start prenatal care 
10. Build a support system. Start planning for the period after the baby is born by developing a support network of friends, family, church and community. When you need a break, someone will be there to help you. When you feel like a failure as a parent, someone will be there to talk to. Remember that the relationship with your partner needs attention. Attend classes together, take time away from children at least once a week and nourish the love that brought the children into the world. Many birthing centers and hospitals have information about parenting support groups. Join one or start your own. Some support groups meet regularly for years, helping members through childhood and even adolescent transitions.
Trying to Conceive? Find Out How to Get Pregnant Faster with the iVillage Fertility Planner
