Preconception Visit 

It is very common for women to focus on whether they will be able to get pregnant and how long it will take, that they often overlook the importance of preparing their body to achieve maximal fertility and becoming a healthy body to nourish a growing baby.

Pregnancy demands a lot of a woman’s body and the healthier you are going into it, the easier it will be. Taking some time prior to conception to address unhealthy habits, imbalances, toxin exposures, vitamin and nutrient deficiencies, and nourishing your body will enable you to provide your baby with the critical building blocks for development and help you to meet those demands of pregnancy with more ease.

The Importance of Preconception Preparation

On a daily basis women are exposed to an average of 168 chemicals from the use of personal care products.  Personal care products include make up, perfumes, toothpaste, lotion, shampoo, deodorant, body wash, hair dye, and the list goes on.  Your skin, being your largest organ, absorbs all these chemicals, which then make their way into your circulation.

Since the FDA does not require safety testing of ingredients in personal care products prior to use, we have little data regarding their impact on health, fertility, and newborns.  Many of these chemicals are now known to act as endocrine disruptors in the body.  This means they either mimic hormones (causing overstimulation) or block your body’s own hormones from doing their job.  They have been linked to  hormonal imbalances, increased risk of cancer, impaired fertility, earlier puberty in girls, endometriosis, diabetes, and obesity.

Research spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group in 2004 on the cord blood of 10 babies born in U.S. hospitals revealed:

• A total of 287 chemicals found in the cord blood, thus passed on to the baby. Of those

• • 180 cause cancer in humans or animals

• • 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system

• • 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests

We do not know the dangers of pre or post-natal exposure to this mixture of cancer causing chemicals, developmental toxins and neurotoxins because it has never been studied.

Based on everything listed above, I recommend starting preparations at least 6 months in advance of trying to conceive, possibly longer depending on your current state of health.  A preconception visit is a vital step on your journey to motherhood.