Pre-Pregnancy Complete Guide For Females: Essential Healthy steps 2024

Pre-Pregnancy Complete Guide for females can help them understand how important it is to plan their pregnancy to increase the chances of having a healthy baby.

LOW-RISK PREGNANCY	MEDIUM RISK PREGNANCY	HIGH RISK PREGNANCY
Age between 22 years to 30 years	Age between 31-35 years	Age More than 35 years
Good BMI	Medium BMI	High BMI
No pre-existing Disease	Suffering from diseass like diabetes, hypertension, thyroid	Cardiac, pulmonary, Renal disease, cancer patients
Not on any medication	Taking medicine for a few chronic diseases	Taking medicine for multiple chronic serious disease.

Pre-Pregnancy Complete Guide For Females

Pre-Pregnancy complete guide for females includes-

Age-

Pre-pregnancy planning complete guide for females starts with the Age of the women when they want to plan for pregnancy.

Women in their late 30s and 40s can have more chances of challenging pregnancy compared to those in mid 20’s and early 30 years of age.

Late pregnancy can result in diseases like-

1. Pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy)
2. Gestational Diabetes (high blood sugar level during pregnancy)
3. Aneuploidy ( Chromosomal Disorder like Down syndrome).
4. Miscarriage- Miscarriages are more common in women with advanced-age pregnancies and those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Diet And Weight-

Weight before pregnancy and during pregnancy is a very important factor in pre-pregnancy complete guide for females which can determine the pregnancy outcome.

Women with low weight before pregnancy and during pregnancy have more having a baby with-

1. Low birth weight
2. Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Women who are obese or those with a weight more than normal for their age and height will have more chances of suffering from

1. Diabetes
2. Ischaemic Heart Disease
3. Hypertension

Women with Folic acid deficiency have more chances of having a baby with-

Neural Tube Disorders like Spina bifida and anencephaly.

Pre-Pregnancy Complete Guide For Females Counseling-

A Pre-Pregnancy complete guide for females counseling includes-

Counseling of the women in Low-Risk Groups-

1. Diet– Add more protein and fibre in your diet when planning for pregnancy. Boiled egg, chicken, fish, pulses,green vegetables and fruits. These diet will help with improving overall health of women which can increase chances of having a healthy pregnancy with less complications.
2. Exercise– It is important to perform regular exercise to keep the Body Mass Index(BMI) in a healthy range before pregnancy. It also improves pelvic muscle strength which can lead to healthy pregnancy and normal delivery.
3. Lifestyle modifications– Avoid smoking and drinking as these have adverse effects on your health and also lead to difficulties in conception (Getting pregnant).
4. Stress– Try to avoid stress as it can lead to difficulties in getting pregnant. Taking eight hours of sleep is a good habit to improve the overall health of the body.
5. Vaccination– Rubella immunity must be checked especially women in developing countries and underdeveloped countries are at more risk.

Counseling of the women with Medical Conditions-

1. Hypertension– If the woman is suffering from hypertension then she should inform the doctor or the doctor should examine the blood pressure to check for any abnormalities and in case of hypertension, proper treatment is important.
2. Diabetes– High blood sugar can be risky during pregnancy and can have a negative impact on the fetus. Diabetes should be kept under control before and during pregnancy.
3. Thyroid Disorder– Hyper and Hypothyroidism disorder are two different types of thyroid disorder and they should be managed properly by the doctor and the patient should follow the doctor’s advice.
4. Bleeding disorder– It is very risky, especially in the first trimester of the pregnancy and women should be advised of the risk of bleeding. In the event of a miscarriage, admission to the hospital is necessary to prevent further complications.
5. Thromboembolism– Women with thromboembolic disorder need proper treatment especially during the first few months of pregnancy as vomiting during pregnancy can aggravate thrombotic disorder.

An important part of planning Pre-pregnancy complete guide for females-

This part of the pre-pregnancy complete guide for females deals with the important parts like:

When you should avoid pregnancy?

It is one of the difficult parts to make the patient understand about some risks of pregnancy

1. Pulmonary Hypertension- It is a type of hypertension that affects arteries of the lungs and it can increase the risk of mortality by 50 percent during pregnancy.
2. Cardiac conditions like cardiomyopathy, Heart Failure, and Aortic stenosis can cause serious risks to women planning for pregnancy. So they should first get a cardiologist’s opinion before going forward with pregnancy.
3. Respiratory Diseases like cystic fibrosis and Renal diseases like Renal failure can lead to a worsening of the patient’s conditions if the patient plans to get pregnant. It is important to get a specialist doctor’s opinion.
4. Cancer patients should consult an oncologist as it can be very risky to go ahead with pregnancy.

Teratogenic Medicine

Some Medicines can cause Birth Defects in babies especially if taken just before or during the pregnancy. Below is the list of some of the medicines which can cause Teratogenic effects-

1. Warfarin– It is an Anti-coagulant which is used to prevent clot formation. But warfarin can lead to abnormal bone and cartilage formation if taken during pregnancy especially first trimester. During the second and Third Trimester of the pregnancy, they can cause fetal cerebral hemorrhage and warfarin microcephaly (small head).
2. ACE INHIBITORS– These medicines are used to control high blood pressure. But they can be a risk for the fetus and can lead to Fetal Renal dysgenesis ( Abnormal development of the kidney before birth).
3. Anti-Epileptic Medicine– These medicines are used to control epilepsy and should not be stopped without your doctor’s advice. But these can cause Neural Tube Defects, Cleft Lips, and Cardiac problems in the fetus. So it is important to inform the doctor about these medicines before planning for pregnancy.
4. Statins- These medicines are used to control cholesterol levels in the patients and should be taken on a daily basis to improve the patient’s conditions, but these medicines can cause Limb defects and CNS problems in the fetus.

Similarly many medicines are there which can have a negative impact on the fetus and hence it is important to consult the doctor so that they can prescribe a safer alternative.

Obstetric Complications-

Women with a previous history of pre-term delivery, post postpartum hemorrhage need to go for a Pre-Pregnancy complete guide for females by the doctor to plan for a safer pregnancy.

Specialist doctors can take a complete history of previous pregnancy and related complications to try and find the possible cause for previous pregnancy complications and provide treatment accordingly

Summary-

1. A Pre-pregnancy complete guide for females can be beneficial for couples to lower the risk of complications during pregnancy.
2. Never take any medicine without a doctor’s advice to avoid any negative effects on the fetus.
3. Eat healthy food and do regular exercise.
4. Obesity, Diabetes, Hypertension, and Thyroid disorder can increase during pregnancy for both the mother and the fetus. So, always be under the observation of your doctor.
5. Avoid natural home remedies as they can harm you and your baby.