Planning On Getting Pregnant? 5 Habits To Quit Before Having A Baby

Preconception health is a big factor in your fertility levels and your future baby’s developmental health. Some women begin their preconception health and wellness journey even before they get into a relationship or get married because it’s never too soon to start. But if you didn’t have the greatest diet or healthiest lifestyle habits now, don't sweat it. The point is you’re here now. Plus, these health tips are also important practices that you can pass along to your husband.

Obviously, any health practices that are good for you are good for your prospective pregnancy, but some things are specifically very important for fertility and prenatal health, and yet often forgotten. Your body has to be healthy if you want your baby to be healthy, it’s as simple as that. The things you ingest and do are both absorbed by your baby and affect your pregnancy. Even if you’re not yet married or probably not getting pregnant anytime soon, get a jump start on being the healthiest momma you can be so your baby is healthy from the get-go!

1. Eating on the Run

Maybe you weren’t expecting this one, but there are several reasons why it’s a bad habit (one that most Americans practice daily). Eating good food is important, but so is how you eat it. Eating on the run is bad for digestion because our bodies are put into sympathetic mode, which is the active mode, instead of the rest-and-digest parasympathetic mode. Rushing with your food also doesn’t allow you to eat your food slowly (to allow your saliva and digestive juices to fully get produced) and chew fully, sending larger particles of food down to your digestive system and making it work harder to break down those particles. 

Eating on the go raises your cortisol levels, which adds stress to the adrenals. Your adrenals play a huge role in stress management, your immune system, energy levels, and metabolism. It’s important to strengthen your adrenals now so that your body can help grow healthy adrenals for your baby.

Your body has to be healthy if you want your baby to be healthy, it’s as simple as that.

2. Smoking/Vaping

Everyone knows that smoking and even vaping are bad for your health, but these habits are extremely toxic for your baby’s immune system, lungs, and brain development, and they can cause birth defects and diseases in your baby. Smoking can also cause fertility problems and miscarriages. The nicotine, tobacco, added chemicals, and the smoke itself poisons your body. And did you know that vaping can actually even be worse than some forms of smoking, leaving oily residue and chemicals coating your lungs and windpipe? 

Wean yourself off now. Even if you aren’t necessarily addicted and don’t do either often, it’s still advisable to just quit altogether so your body can rid itself of the chemicals before you conceive. This goes for you and your husband – the dad contributes to the baby’s genetic makeup too!

3. Drinking Alcohol Often

Alcohol lowers fertility levels and affects your ability to conceive. Drinking alcohol often and/or excessively is also damaging for your liver and brain health, and you do pass on some of your genetics to your baby. Plus, you’ll have to give it up anyway once you’re pregnant, so you might as well start easing back or maybe experimenting with a dry month to get your body more indifferent to alcohol. Even if you just enjoy a glass of white or red at wine-o-clock, or socializing with that happy hour cocktail on weekends, try to budget your drink to something like once a week or twice a month (depending on how much you usually drink), especially when you’re closer to trying to get pregnant. One study found that even moderate drinking during your luteal phase (three to six drinks a week) could decrease your chances of implantation and pregnancy by 44%.

4. Narcotics

Drugs are extremely harmful for your baby’s growth, nerve, and brain function. Drugs (and drug remnants in your system) are absorbed into your bloodstream and can negatively affect organ function and can cause birth defects, stillbirth, nerve disorders in your baby once you conceive, and even increases the risk of SIDS.

This category also includes melatonin intake (even though it’s not a drug). Although it’s a dietary supplement and is considered safe for short-term use, melatonin does have side effects and has not been proven safe for pregnancy.

And that coffee addiction? You might want to wean off of that as well. Again, though it’s not a drug, coffee is still a caffeine stimulant and is addictive. Caffeine stresses our adrenals; if it can cause jittery sensations and headaches in adults (and wear out the adrenals over time, causing adrenal fatigue), then you can imagine the stress it can put on a tiny, developing baby with sensitive organs. 

There are studies that suggest caffeine lowers estrogen levels which can affect ovulation and lower your chances of conceiving. According to ScienceDaily, caffeine “reduces muscle activity in the fallopian tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the womb,” which can make it difficult to conceive. Studies show that caffeine “may inhibit the fertility process of egg maturation,” as well as cause hormonal disruption and affect ovulation. One study showed that women who consumed less than one cup of coffee were twice as likely to get pregnant than were moderate coffee drinkers, and chances for pregnancy were reduced with higher caffeine intake. Plus, large amounts of caffeine can increase the risk of miscarriage once pregnant. While coffee is fun and cozy, try to at least get to a place where you’re not dependent on drinking it every day or multiple cups when you do. 

5. Extreme Dieting

The fact is, you do need some fat on your body to have stable hormones, a regular cycle, good fertility, and a healthy pregnancy. There’s a reason why Greek mythology portrays Aphrodite — the goddess of sexual love, beauty and fertility — as having a fully developed and feminine shape with a good amount of meat on her instead of a skinny, Barbie doll figure. Plus, your body needs certain nutrients, and most diet fads will eliminate entire food groups without replacing those nutrients with something else. It’s one thing if you can’t digest certain foods so you have to make allowances and substitute with other foods, but extreme dieting can also sometimes involve long periods of fasting or abstaining from important foods, both of which can upset your hormones and imbalance your blood sugar. 

You do need some fat on your body to have good fertility and a healthy pregnancy.

Try These 5 Healthy Habits Instead

1. Sleep

Start going to bed early and building a consistent sleep schedule. Use a sleep meditation guide and/or take magnesium citrate (it’s healthier than melatonin and has no side effects) if you have trouble falling asleep. 

2. Diet

Use natural sweeteners (over processed sweets) with an organic, clean, balanced diet. Eat more simple ingredients than processed, packaged food. Stick to a healthy regimen that’s best for your blood type and metabolism and easiest for your digestion. Your hormones will be happy!

3. Energy

Drink warm lemon water and/or herbal tea in the morning instead of coffee. Maybe even try drinking decaf coffee to wean off the caffeine. Mint helps with nausea, and ginger helps calm the stomach and assist in digestion. Steam up a cozy mug of tea in the afternoon or evening to swap out with that wineglass. 

4. Movement

Moving consistently becomes a daily investment in a healthier you. Even less strenuous exercises like stretching, walking and swimming will make your body feel good. Getting in the habit of exercising daily and incorporating healthy movement now will contribute to a healthy pregnancy later on. Not to mention, that added strength will help your body acclimate to the added baby weight (and help you bounce back more easily during your postpartum time). 

5. Mindset

Finally, nurture a positive attitude within yourself; your baby hears your voice, feels your emotions and reactions in your womb, and absorbs some of your personality traits. How you feel and react can affect your baby inside you. You want to make sure all that communication is calm, happy, and focused to influence your baby in a positive way. Forming a more positive focus now will help with stress management, help alleviate any pregnancy-related anxiety later on, and equip you with a more can-do mindset.

Closing Thoughts

Just remember that these habits will make you healthier — and what makes you healthy will also benefit your baby. Start simple and easy with your health plan, then work your way up to adding more things for Operation Healthy Baby. Remember, the worst thing is stressing about all of the overwhelming factors that go into pregnancy. It’s OK if this is your first time thinking about these things. You shouldn’t guilt-trip yourself for bad habits in the past, but instead, positively focus on a mindful, balanced lifestyle for yourself and your future baby. 

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