Pregnancy is something special and beautiful. If you take a few aspects into account, nothing should stand in the way of a smooth pregnancy. It is only natural that questions arise along the way. We would like to answer some of them and give you useful advice.

Good preparation is essential

Proper preparation for pregnancy is essential. Because ovulation occurs about two weeks before the start of menstruation, it can be three weeks before you know you are pregnant. The most critical period for your baby is between the second and eighth weeks of pregnancy, when the face and organs such as the heart and kidneys are formed. All your lifestyle habits (diet, smoking, alcohol) can affect your baby. It is therefore preferable to adopt the healthy habits of a pregnant woman even before the pregnancy is confirmed.

Planning a pregnancy means happy plans for your child’s future, and it also means painstaking preparation at every level, including the physical health of the mother-to-be. To prepare for pregnancy, it is advisable to undergo a set of tests and consult specialists in several fields. The older the mother-to-be, the higher the chance of problems during pregnancy. A preliminary medical examination helps assess the body’s condition accurately and carry out health-improving measures to reduce the risk.

If you are looking for a complete, high-quality health examination, consider diagnostics abroad. A medical check-up in Switzerland means consultations and examinations with professors of medicine and leading international specialists, the most modern diagnostic methods, high-tech digital equipment and a premium level of service at every stage.

The right nutrition when planning a pregnancy

For women:

The sooner you switch to a more balanced and nutritious diet, the better for you and your baby. Here is what you can do to help you conceive:

  • Increase your intake of folic acid. Folic acid in early pregnancy (that is, during the first four weeks) reduces neural tube defects by at least 50%. Many women do not even know they are pregnant during this critical period of foetal development, so it is best to start taking multivitamins or prenatal vitamins before conception.
  • Follow a balanced diet. Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, nuts, pulses, bread and wholegrain cereals, and increase your calcium intake.
  • Avoid alcohol. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy has been linked to several serious health problems, including low birth weight, miscarriage and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
  • Avoid artificial sweeteners and caffeine. This applies to chocolate, fizzy drinks and coffee.

For men:

  • Research shows that healthy eating also affects male fertility. It will be easier if the future mother and father switch to a healthy, balanced diet together well in advance.
  • Increase the amount of vitamin C in your diet to reduce the risk of sperm damage.
  • Increase your zinc intake. Zinc is found in lean minced beef, dried beans and dark chicken meat. Even a short-term zinc deficiency is associated with reduced semen volume and testosterone levels.
  • Take a multivitamin every day. This can support healthy sperm production and viability.

Medicines when planning a pregnancy

Do you take medication regularly?

Talk to your doctor about whether your medication could affect fertility (this applies to both men and women).

The same applies to medicinal herbs. Strong anti-inflammatory drugs can interfere with ovulation.

Harmful habits

Stop smoking as soon as possible if you want to have a child. Smoking has been proven to affect fertility. This also applies if your partner smokes, because passive smoking harms health and fertility to a degree that has long been underestimated. Normal fertility returns only a year after the last cigarette.

Compared with non-smokers, men who smoke produce fewer sperm, and fewer of them are motile. Women who smoke conceive less often and less quickly, and reach the menopause earlier.

It is even more important to avoid smoking during pregnancy, because smoking harms the unborn child: it develops less well and its growth is delayed. Smoking also increases the risk of premature birth.

If you find you cannot overcome nicotine addiction on your own but want to stop smoking before pregnancy, you can undergo treatment in Switzerland. CorSwiss offers treatment for nicotine addiction in Switzerland at one of the world’s best rehabilitation centres, Kusnacht Practice.

If you are healthy before conception, your child will get the best start in life. In the past, doctors believed that only the health of the mother-to-be and her preparation before pregnancy influenced the future child. Research, however, shows that these factors matter for fathers too.