5 changes you can make to improve your chances of conceiving
You and your partner are on the same page about starting or growing your family. The question is, do you have a preconception plan?
We emphasize spending thousands of dollars and months planning a wedding all for it to be over in one day. But there is no emphasis in our modern western society on preparing your mind and body for pregnancy. As a newlywed, I remember getting asked, so how does it feel to be married? Honestly, it felt no different for me at all. We already lived together and even shared some of our financial resources.
But adding another life to the family is literally WORLD CHANGING. No one asks, what are you doing to prepare to have a child?'' It's all, “When are you going to have kids?”
My personal Journey
Looking back on it all now, the time I spent prioritizing my health leading up to pregnancy was time and money well spent. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2011, and therefore set on my own path to health, one that felt like it wasn’t a choice but a necessity for me. And despite this new diagnosis of autoimmunity, I saw myself as a healthy person before that even though I was experiencing symptoms like bloating, acid reflux, constipation, painful periods (masked by hormonal birth control), and crippling anxiety, and constant fatigue. Things that just became my “normal.”
So from 2014 to 2018, when we conceived our first child, my life was consumed with improving my diet, healing my gut, getting off hormonal birth control, learning to track my menstrual cycle with symptothermal method, balancing my thyroid hormones, improving my sleep, and managing my stress.
I’m so glad I went off hormonal birth control when I did. I highly recommend going off as soon as possible to give yourself a buffer to allow your menstrual cycles to normalize. Seeing that hormonal birth control can also leave you nutrient depleted, you’ll also want a buffer of time for your nutrient stores to fully replenish. It’s even wise to start a high quality prenatal (affiliate link to Full Well - use code JAMIEF10 for 10% off your first order - this is the prenatal I personally use) before you even get off birth control.
When it came time for us to try and conceive, my brain was flooded with thoughts that I might have a miscarriage because my mom did, or that it could take over a year to get pregnant (because that’s what were told, plus I have Hashimoto’s -- a thyroid autoimmune condition on top of Celiac Disease). But ultimately, I had put absolutely no pressure on myself as far as a timeline of when I wanted to be pregnant. And because I had used the symptothermal method to track my fertile window, we knew exactly when to try and conceive. Late July 2018, we conceived our first month trying. I don’t share this to brag about my ability to conceive. I share it to hopefully provide you with hope of what a preconception plan can provide.
Why I do what I do
Fast forward to 2020, my son is about one year old, and I discovered health coaching. After completing my certification and deciding who I wanted to work with, I knew that I wanted to share my knowledge of what I did in 4 years on my personal health journey with other women to help them prepare for pregnancy. While I didn’t know it at the time by focusing on my overall health, I was doing everything right to support conception and a healthy pregnancy. I had no swelling, no gestational diabetes, my thyroid antibodies decreased during pregnancy, and minus morning sickness in the first trimester, I ultimately felt amazing in the second and third trimesters.
So here are some of the things I want to share with you from my journey. I recommend taking as little as 4 months or as long as 12+ months to prepare your body and mind for pregnancy.
5 changes to include in your preconception plan
Track your cycle using basal body temperature (bbt) and cervical mucus after stopping hormonal birth control (grab my free bbt guide here)
Improve your sleep and focus on getting 7-9 hours each night
Remove Environmental Toxins from your personal care and cleaning products
Focus on a Nutrient Dense Real Food Diet that supports optimal gut health
Find a way to add more mindfulness into your life as a way to help manage stress
If you would like help coming up with your own preconception plan and would like help figuring out your next steps on your fertility journey, I actually offer fertility strategy sessions to help you come up with a roadmap on preparing for pregnancy.
I’m talking about 60-75 minutes where I get to know you, your health history, and your goals for how you would like to grow your family. If that interests you and you’re looking to get clarity on where to start, click here to schedule your call today.
