I put this list together because there’s so much to do to prepare for pregnancy and some parts can be forgotten. You might have already changed your diet, exercise regime, endocrine disruptor potential exposure, your mindset and so much more. But, here’s insider advice that you might not see in a brochure at your doctor’s office.
Let me preface this by saying that if you’ve had a loss(es) like a miscarriage or experience infertility, this preparation might be triggering. Please proceed only if it’s right for you to explore the practical planning.
OK, let’s get to it!
1. Buy loose clothing now.
Whether you have early pregnancy bloat or end up needing (more) infertility treatment that makes you balloon out (I say that lovingly), having some looser clothes that make you feel good can be the comfort and also the confidence boost that you need. It’s common for bodies to change on the fertility journey and so much of it is psychological where we benefit from some reflection on those shifts, but in addition to that having the physical comfort of looser clothes on hand can support your emotional needs. The fertility journey can include so much other discomfort and this can help alleviate at least a little.
This tip is especially applicable if you’re doing in vitro fertilization (IVF) because treatment can make you look pregnant from the bloating, and it can be painful when others ask if you’re pregnant when you aren’t (yet). Loose clothing can help hide the bloat.
2. Look into childcare now.
If you won’t need childcare then skip this one. If you will need childcare, consider looking into it now and be ready to put your name on wait-lists. This is especially important if you’re in a large city or anywhere that childcare is harder to find or access. Waitlists can be ridiculously long and you might even benefit from putting them on the list as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. Again, this could be triggering if you have had losses or failed treatment. I’m so sorry.
3. Look into sick days at work now.
Check your work to see what’s paid in terms of: sick days, short-term disability and unpaid time off or even bereavement leave. No matter where you are on the fertility journey, having this helps prepare you in case you need it for appointments, treatment or other fertility speed bumps (or worse). Planning ahead can help.
4. Wear your retainer and keep up good oral hygiene
This might sound strange, but if you wore a retainer in the past, keep wearing it. Or, if you had braces and don’t have your retainer anymore then consider talking to your orthodontist. The reason is that if you get pregnant (and even if you don’t stay pregnant), your body produces more progesterone and estrogen and other hormones that can cause your teeth to revert back or shift to an even worse position. Wearing your retainer from the start can prevent that shift. Talk to your orthodontist if this applies to you!
I know this from experience. After getting pregnant my teeth shifted back to before I had braces when I was 13 and then they started shifting so much so that my teeth were going to fall out. Weird, right? If you see photos of my for the first 9 months of 2021 you’ll see me rocking my Invisalign. But if I’d keep wearing my retainer I wouldn’t have needed to.
Keeping up good oral hygiene and even switching to a softer toothbrush and rinsing with salt water is also helpful since the hormones can also affect your gum and teeth health. At least some of it is in our control, not all!
5. Postpone laser hair removal.
Wait until after your fertility journey(s) are over to do laser hair removal. Or, talk to your technician about this possibility. The reason is that if you laser and then get pregnant, your hair can grow back or do strange things in pregnancy. Waiting until after you think your fertility journey is over can prevent wasted money and time. Or, just pay to have it done again after or later if you don’t get pregnant.
I include this random life tip because laser hair removal is common among people with PCOS. PCOS is one of the most common causes of infertility. Hair growth on your face can be a symptom of the syndrome. It’s common among people with PCOS who have excess facial hair and do laser hair removal.
Those are the 5 random life tips. There are so many more tips so follow or check out my Instagram for more. If you are getting ready to get pregnant, prepare for everything to change quickly, but also prepare for the fact that things might not change that quickly either. Either way, you’ve got me by your side if you need more support.
