How healthy you are prior to becoming pregnant is almost as essential as your health during pregnancy, which is why it’s so important to start thinking about what you might want to do to get your body ready. This is true even if you’re not planning on getting pregnant anytime soon. Data from 2021 suggests that roughly 38 percent of pregnancies in Florida were unplanned, making it all the more important to take steps to prepare, even if your chances of becoming pregnant are small. Here are a few things to think about when gearing up for a healthy pregnancy.

SEE YOUR DOCTOR

One of the most important things you can do to plan for pregnancy is talking with your doctor. He or she can help you figure out what specific steps you should take to help ensure a healthy mom and a healthy baby, including any weight loss/gain you should consider, changes to medications, or lifestyle changes you might want to make before getting pregnant. Your provider can also let you know what to expect in terms of how pregnancy might affect any chronic medical conditions you may have, what vaccinations you might need, and what vitamins or nutritional supplements might be best for you.

START TAKING PRENATAL VITAMINS

You don’t have to be pregnant to take prenatal supplements. A lot of important things happen during the first days and weeks of pregnancy, and having certain vitamins and minerals already in your body is a crucial part of preventing complications. That’s why it’s recommended that all women capable of becoming pregnant eat a healthy, well-balanced diet — not just because it’s good for their health, but also because it’s good for their (future) child. Many doctors will advise their patients hoping to have a baby soon to start taking prenatal vitamins even before they start trying to get pregnant. Spending a few months building up vital nutrients will give your baby the best shot at a healthy start — right from the get-go.

STOP SMOKING

Most people know that smoking is bad for your health but using tobacco products of any kind (including e-cigarettes) can be especially dangerous during pregnancy. Nicotine — a highly addictive ingredient in tobacco — can damage an unborn baby’s lungs and brain, and smoking during pregnancy can increase the chances your baby will be born too early or too small, develop birth defects like a cleft lip, or die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in infancy. What’s more, smoking before pregnancy can make it harder to get pregnant, providing one more reason for moms-to-be to quit beforehand.

If you’re looking for assistance to quit smoking before or during pregnancy, Tobacco Free Florida offers some great resources specifically geared toward helping women quit.

STOP DRINKING

Like tobacco, alcohol use during pregnancy can cause a whole host of issues for both mom and baby. In addition to upping the chances of miscarriage and stillbirth, drinking while pregnant can increase the likelihood that a child will have potentially lifelong physical challenges — like a small head size, low body weight, or abnormal facial features — as well as cognitive ones, including learning disabilities and low IQ. When moms drink too much or too often, babies can be born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, a range of physiological and intellectual issues linked to alcohol.

While it may be possible to drink small amounts of alcohol while pregnant without any issues to you or your baby, the CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) both say there is no amount of alcohol shown to be safe during pregnancy. Given the risks alcohol can pose, it’s recommended to stop drinking altogether if there is a chance you could become pregnant.

GET TO A HEALTHY WEIGHT

Being a healthy weight prior to pregnancy is important for a number of reasons — not least of which because being over or underweight can put you and your baby at risk for issues during pregnancy, including your chances of dying in childbirth, as well as make it harder to get pregnant if you are trying.

What constitutes a “healthy weight” will vary from person to person, but a general guideline is to refer to the body mass index (BMI). This formula uses your height and weight to determine whether you are underweight, a healthy weight, overweight, or obese. It’s not perfect — a thin person with a lot of toned muscle can be mistakenly classified as “overweight,” while someone with a high percentage of body fat might have a BMI considered “healthy” — but it can provide guidance for a lot of people on how much weight they might want to lose or gain before getting pregnant. Before starting any weight loss program, it’s important to talk to your doctor to make sure it’s right for you.