8 Ways to Prep Your Body for Pregnancy

Deciding you’re ready for a baby is a huge and exciting step. Now make sure your body is in the best condition to get pregnant and carry a healthy child. Although you can’t control some fertility factors, such as age and genetics, you can improve many lifestyle choices.

Begin by leading a healthy lifestyle at least six months before attempting conception, says M. Max Ezzati, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

“Egg development usually starts three to five months before an egg is released, so your lifestyle during that time can impact egg health and fertilization once you’re ready to conceive,” he says. “The longer you’ve been living healthily, the better.”

Next, make these eight important changes.

1. Step Up Exercise

“Aerobic exercise increases your body’s antioxidant capacity,” Dr. Ezzati says. This is important because everyday metabolism generates free radicals, unstable molecules that can hinder egg production. Antioxidants can combat this effect and also improve egg quality. Dr. Ezzati suggests strength training, too.

2. Work on Your Weight

Carrying excess pounds could make it tougher to conceive. “Overweight women are less likely to ovulate on a regular basis,” Dr. Ezzati says. “Obesity can also cause an abnormal hormonal profile, such as increased estrogen and decreased release of hormones from the pituitary gland, which may suppress fertility.”

Excessive weight can impact insulin sensitivity, further disrupting egg development, and “increases the risk of miscarriage and pregnancy-related complications like preeclampsia, high blood pressure, diabetes and cesarean section,” Dr. Ezzati adds.

Too-thin women face many of the same challenges. “Also, during pregnancy underweight women may suffer from intrauterine growth restrictions and go into labor preterm,” Dr. Ezzati says. “The body assumes that if there’s not enough energy to sustain the mother, it’s not an appropriate time to reproduce.”

Because it can take several months to lose or gain weight the healthy way—through proper diet and exercise—Dr. Ezzati suggests beginning your efforts more than six months before trying to conceive.

3. Avoid Cigarette Smoke

If you smoke, quit now. Among the countless reasons why this habit is horrible for you, smoking speeds up reproductive aging, so your fertility window narrows. When you do become pregnant, smoking decreases the amount of oxygen available for the fetus and impedes blood flow across the placenta, often causing low birth weight and even miscarriage or stillbirth.

“Limit your exposure to cigarettes, whether it’s active or passive smoking,” Dr. Ezzati says.

4. Abstain from Alcohol

Alcohol kicks up free radicals that can squelch egg production. Once you’re carrying a baby, it doesn’t take much booze to exert harm. Fetal alcohol syndrome can happen even if you drink lightly during pregnancy. “Alcohol has a detrimental impact on the development of the embryo and fetus in the early stages,” Dr. Ezzati says. “Because one woman may metabolize alcohol more slowly than another, there is no known safe level.”

Shun beer, wine and hard liquor completely if you’re trying to conceive, he says, because you could be pregnant for weeks or even months without knowing it.

5. Curtail Caffeine

The jury’s still out over whether caffeine jeopardizes conception, but solid science links high caffeine doses to greater miscarriage risk. “I don’t recommend complete abstinence, but minimize your intake,” Dr. Ezzati says. “It’s fine to drink one normal-size cup of coffee a day, but giant lattés from coffee shops often have too much caffeine.”

6. Reduce Stress

“High stress is definitely linked to reduced chances of conception, although we don’t yet understand exactly how it’s detrimental,” Dr. Ezzati says.

What doctors do know is that reducing stress benefits both fertility and pregnancy. “Several studies show that mind-body programs can improve outcomes of infertility treatments,” Dr. Ezzati says.

7. Prioritize Nutrients

Eat lots of antioxidant-rich, colorful fruits and vegetables to zap conception-impeding free radicals, Dr. Ezzati says. And at least four months prior to attempting to conceive, start talking a daily prenatal multivitamin. Make sure your supplement provides folic acid, which reduces the risk of neural tube defects.

8. Get Busy

To get pregnant with your partner, you gotta have sex. Yet many couples struggle to make time for it. Prioritize intercourse, and talk to your healthcare provider about the best times of month and how often. “We educate women about the ideal frequency and how to time intercourse in a more effective, efficient way,” Dr. Ezzati says. Certain lubricants aren’t sperm friendly, so discuss that with your doc, too.