How long should you prepare before trying to conceive?
“I’m thinking about stopping the pill next month and we’ll start trying after the that”
Or
“I’m gonna stop breastfeeding once my baby turns a year old, then we will start trying for our next child”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard statements like these from a woman who began working with me for 1:1 nutrition coaching.
No judgement, but here’s why that approach can be problematic…
The time it will take to prepare for pregnancy will vary based on a variety of factors:
History of hormonal contraceptive use
Time lapsed since prior pregnancy
duration in between pregnancies
Duration of breast-feeding
Stress level
current level of toxic exposures (such as those from endocrine disrupting chemicals)
And nutrient density of your diet
To learn more about why you might not want to start trying to conceive right away after taking the pill for so long and may want to spend a dedicated time preparing for pregnancy, check out this blog post .
Essentially the pill induces physiological changes that directly impair fertility and reduce your chances for a healthy pregnancy.
But most often, these changes can be reversible!
With dedicated attention and nutritional intention, you can regain your fertility!
If you haven’t been taking the pill, but you’re still less than three years out from a prior pregnancy, you’ll have a lot of nutritional repletion to make up!
So how long should you be preparing for pregnancy?
Well for women, your eggs take between 3-4 months to fully mature and for men, his sperm take about 3 months to fully mature. Every food, drink, habit, activity and environmental exposure in this “zero trimester” period has a critical epigenetic influence on the genetic blueprint and health of your future child.
So if you're already pretty healthy and had minimal changes to make, I would recommend dedicating at least three months prior to trying to conceive (this is where my DIY option of my self-paced course Resilient Motherhood comes in)
If any of those factors above applied to you (such as experiencing prior pregnancy, long term hormonal contraceptive use, high toxic exposures, etc.) then I would recommend at least six months (or more depending on the severity of those factors). ( This is where I would recommend doing my VIP Resilient Motherhood Course + 1:1 coaching bundle for the fastest results )
Are you wondering which steps you need to take and when?
I have created a FREE preconception preparation checklist to help you figure out exactly what steps you can take in the months leading up to your hopeful pregnancy.
In this PDF download, I've included checklists for 3 and 6+ months from conception.
As you know, it takes two to make a baby and preconception habits impact both egg and sperm health directly, so this checklist is designed for both the male and female partners.
Naturally, some questions may come up related to some of my recommendations in the checklist, and these are all topics I elaborate on in my course Resilient Motherhood .
So, if you would like specific recommendations regarding some of the items or topics I suggest in the checklist, including, but not limited to ways to track your fertility, the optimal preconception diet, supplements, lab testing, etc., then I would highly recommend enrolling in my course because I elaborate on these and SO much more!
