Woman's Life | Blog | Checklist family planning
Checklist for family planning: You need to know these 7 tips!
For some couples, steps to starting a family can happen quickly, for others, it can take months or even years. There are many different reasons for this. Use our helpful checklist to get started with your family planning.
Content overview:
- The right age
- Preventative measures
- Healthy lifestyle
- Vitamins, folic acid and iodine
- Health Check
- Create financial and social clarity
- Know your fertile days and when best to do a pregnancy test
The right age
Is there a 'right age' to start a family? Because there is no optimal age for this on an emotional level. It should, but your biological age plays a major role in conception. Women aged 30 and over are less likely to become pregnant due to fertility. From the age of 40, a man's fertility also begins to decrease. The older you and your partner get, the longer it can take to conceive.
From a medical point of view, a woman's best biological age for pregnancy is between 20 and 30 years old.
And what's more: Women aged 35 and over are mentally in the best position to become parents. This is proven by a scientific study by the University of Southern California. This is due to the improved ability of sex hormones during pregnancy (cf. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2016).
Preventative measures
Once you decide to start a family, you should stop using contraception. With hormone-free contraception methods such as condoms or diaphragms, stopping is simple. If you use hormonal contraception such as the pill, you should continue until the finish the pack you have started. This prevents possible cycle disturbances. Allow some time after stopping the pill too. It takes your body about three to six months to regulate your female cycle and hormone balance.
Healthy lifestyle
It is clear that a healthy lifestyle is important for all phases of life. If you have decided to start a family, you should pay even more attention to your body and diet. Overweight and underweight can lead to metabolic disorders and cardiovascular diseases. In men, this can have a negative impact on the formation of healthy sperm, in women it can have a negative impact on the formation of fertile eggs.
In addition to a conscious diet, a healthy lifestyle also includes avoiding indulgencies such as alcohol and nicotine. Consumption of these can limit your fertility and endanger your child's health later in pregnancy.
Excessive caffeine can increase the time it takes to conceive too. This refers to coffee and tea which should be limited to less than five cups a day (cf. Deutsches Ärzteblatt, 2012).
The same applies to both men and women: Regular exercise is a good way to stay healthy and fit. Sport can have a positive effect on your hormonal balance. However, intensive training is counterproductive and reduces your fertility if you are under too much stress. Stress is also an indication that it could take longer to become pregnant. Leisure activities, relaxation techniques and walks can contribute positively to reducing stress.
Vitamins, folic acid and iodine
Vitamins are essential for a functioning metabolism. They are instrumental in the extraction of protein, fats and carbohydrates, as well as in the development of blood cells, enzymes and hormones. In this context, vitamins and minerals have a major influence on your fertility. Vitamins C, B and E are particularly important.
The best sources of vitamins:
Vitamin C
- Blackcurrant
- Guava
- Sea buckthorn
- Lemon
- Kiwi
- Lychee
- Rosehip
- Spinach
- Sweet pepper
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Kale
- Parsley
Vitamin B
- Lettuce leaves
- Endive salad
- Bananas
- Avocado
- Soft cheese
- Milk
- Oat flakes
- Chicken
- Turkey breast
- Veal
- Sesame
- Mackerel
- Salmon
- Herring
- Sunflower seeds
- Lentils
- Cauliflower
- Mushrooms
- Potato
- Eggs
Vitamin E
- All vegetable oils (sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, wheat germ oil)
- Nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, parannuts)
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Redfish
- Trout
- Mackerel
- Bran
- Muesli
- Soybeans
- Sweet potato (cooked)
For the healthiest start to your pregnancy, you should take a folic acid supplement. This "synthetic form of B vitamin folate" (BfR, 2022) is recommended for everyone in the early stages of pregnancy. There are many products on the market that include Iodine, iron and zinc. Depending on your own diet, a combination supplement of different nutrients such as B vitamins, iodine and iron may be appropriate.
Up to pregnancy and in the first trimester, 400 µg folic acid per day is recommended. However, you should never exceed 1000 µg of folic acid per day.
You already consume a lot of nutrients in your diet, but during pregnancy, you'll often need more. This also applies to iodine, the essential component of your thyroid hormones. Iodine supports the management of all physiological processes and so contributes to fertility before pregnancy. As your baby grows in the womb, iodine helps with their brain development, energy metabolism and growth.
The daily iodine requirement is between 200 µg and 230 µg. This may increase to 260 µg daily during breastfeeding.
Health Check
If you're planning to start a family, a health check-up for both of you is recommended in the interest of your future child's health. This includes a general check-up with the general practitioner. Blood tests will be used to check for diabetes, blood lipid levels and thyroid levels. The woman's blood pressure also plays a major role in the check. If you have high blood pressure, it will be treated and checked regularly. Your vaccination status indicates whether vaccinations of childhood diseases such as mumps, rubella and measles have already been carried out or whether immunity exists. Missing vaccinations can be administered if necessary.
Preventive oral health
Healthy teeth and gums during pregnancy provide good care for the mother and child. You should visit your dentist before you become pregnant offers a number of advantages. Imaging techniques such as X-rays are often used for the diagnosis of dental problems. This is not possible during pregnancy due to the high risk of radiation. Any extensive dental treatments are best carried out before pregnancy.
Pregnancy gingivitis is an important issue in oral health. The main symptom is bleeding gums, which is severe in the eighth month of pregnancy. It often disappears immediately after delivery. gingivitis is always a precursor to paradontitis, which can lead to tooth loosening and tooth loss (cf. SUNSTAR, 2022). Low birth weight, preterm birth or even miscarriage are also known as other consequences of pregnancy gingivitis. The cause of this is penetration through the open spaces in the mouth of toxic metabolites and immune system defences (cf. topDentis, 2016).
It's best to speak to all your doctors about your plans to start a family. They are subject to a duty of confidentiality and can advise you on all necessary measures. This also includes planning when it makes sense to have your teeth cleaned. You may even get an early appointment, as pregnant women are often treated with higher priority.
Family planning despite chronic illness
Do you suffer from a chronic disease? Today's medical advances can make pregnancy possible despite a chronic illness. However, you should still discuss the various factors such as the use of medication with your specialist. If necessary, preliminary medical examinations are carried out and medical care is intensified before and during pregnancy. Depending on your illness, you may also have the opportunity to find out about fertility consultations.
Create financial and social clarity
Family planning should not only take health aspects into account. Your financial position is also important. Do you already have insurance contracts that include additional examinations during pregnancy or childbirth? Then you should definitely check them and have them adjusted if necessary. In this context, also note the waiting time for applications. These can be between a few and several months before services can be billed.
You should also discuss the subsequent care of the child in advance. There are some options for this, such as parental leave for both partners alternating or childcare from a certain month of life.
Know your fertile days
Do you know when you have your fertile days? Every woman is individual and reacts differently to hormonal fluctuations. The length of the cycle can vary between 21 and 35 days and so can ovulation. At Beurer, we have two products for natural cycle monitoring and determining your fertile days in order to get pregnant. With the two basal thermometers OT 20 and OT 30 Bluetooth® from Beurer, you can measure your rising temperature and thus recognize your fertile and non-fertile days. This is because the temperature is at its lowest during ovulation.
In combination with the "Ovy" cycle app, you can track and record the data even better and always have a precise overview of your fertile period of up to eight days. This increases your chances of getting pregnant naturally.
With all the tips, you'll be well prepared for your fertile period. In any case, it is a challenge that you should experience together as a couple and always enjoy.
The difference between a basal thermometer and a normal thermometer is that the basal thermometer has a display with two decimal places and therefore a more accurate temperature measurement is possible.
Sources:
- BfR – Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (2022). Become pregnant? - But not without folic acid! https://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/350/schwanger-werden-aber-nicht-ohne-folsaeure.pdf (20.01.2022).
- Deutsches Ärzteblatt – Deutscher Ärzteverlag GmbH (2012). IVF: Coffee and fatty food jeopardise your desire to have a baby. https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/50751/IVF-Kaffee-und-fettes-Essen-gefaehrden-Kinderwunsch (23.01.2022).
- Roksana, K.; Dang, H.; Henderson, V.; Hodis, H.; St. John, J.; Brinton, R.; Mack, W. 2016 Effect of Reproductive History and Exogenous Hormone Use on Cognitive Function in Mid- and Late Life. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Issue 12 (Volume 64), pp. 2403-2611.
- SUNSTAR (2022). Pregnancy gingivitis – causes and treatment. https://professional.sunstargum.com/de-de/infos-events/news/schwangerschaftsgingivitis-behandeln.html (20.03.2023).
- MVZ topDentis Cologne (2016). Blog posts. Healthy teeth during pregnancy. https://topdentis-cologne.de/gesunde-zaehne (20.03.2023).
