The Mommy Docs
There is so much information for moms-to-be about how to have a healthy baby. In fact, with all the books, medical guidelines and advice from seasoned mothers, it’s hard to know exactly what you should do in order to have a healthy pregnancy.
But thanks to the Mommy Docs, courtesy of Oprah.com, Dr. Yvonne Bohn, Dr. Allison Hill and Dr. Alane Park, these ob/gyns have personally welcomed more than 15,000 babies into the world and are the featured doctors in the popular Discovery Health Channel series Deliver Me. They are also moms themselves with six kids between them.
Here are their five recommendations for a healthy pregnancy.
1. Regular visits to your doctor – While it may sound like a no-brainer, visiting your doctor regularly throughout your pregnancy is vital to your health and the health of your unborn child. This is particularly true for women with pre-existing conditions like diabetes or thyroid conditions, as both of these ailments can harm you and your child.
2. Pop your daily multi – While eating a healthy diet throughout pregnancy is very important, it is also crucial that women who want to become pregnant prepare their bodies by taking folic acid. The Mommy Docs recommend taking 800 mcg of folic acid three months before conceiving.
3. Shed excess weight – Women who are obese have much higher rates of miscarriage, infertility and delivery via Cesarean section than women who maintain a healthy weight. If you are obese or overweight, try to get your BMI down to a healthy range before getting pregnant in order to improve your chances of a successful pregnancy and delivery. A normal BMI is 18.5–24.9.
4. Quit your vices – Drugs, alcohol and smoking all spell disaster for mom and baby. If you want to become pregnant, but have a dependency on one or more of these vices, talk to your doctor or a trained medical professional about getting the help you need to quit. Your life and your unborn child’s life depend on it.
5. Know your ovulation schedule – Even if you take a hormone-based form of contraception, you can get pregnant. During the week you ovulate, which occurs when you take your placebo pills or when you take a week break from the patch or ring, those hormones are metabolized from your body. According to the Mommy Docs, you will ovulate a week after stopping these methods, so if you want to get pregnant, these seven days are your green-light time.
You can learn about the Mommy Docs by visiting MommyDocs.com.
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