Ready for Pregnancy
#Ready for Pregnancy is here to support you if you are thinking about a pregnancy and looking for information on how to prepare.
Welcome to #ReadyforPregnancy! There is a clear link between a mother's health before pregnancy, the risks she is exposed to during this period, and the possible impact on her baby's health. We know that healthy women may have lower risk of complications during pregnancy and are more likely to deliver healthy babies who grow into thriving children. Everyone can have a part to play in helping mums to stay healthy during this journey.
#ReadyforPregnancy is there to support you if you are thinking about having a baby and looking for information about how to prepare and be in the best health possible.
There is also an NHS guide available that provides information on conceiving, pregnancy, labour, and delivery.
Contents
- Learn more about breastfeeding
- Look after your mental health
- Stopping smoking
- Check your vaccinations are up to date
- Helping your fertility
- Cutting out alcohol
- Pregnancy, birth and parenting
- Long-term health conditions
- Exercising
- Healthy eating and health weight
- Contraception
Learn more about breastfeeding
The NHS Website advises that it is never too early to start thinking about how you're going to feed your baby. Surrey's mums and birthing people will be supported in making informed decisions around feeding their baby.
Breastfeeding has many benefits; some are listed below:
- The composition of your breast milk is specifically tailored for the nutritional needs of your child.
- Breastfeeding provides health advantages for both you and your baby, including protection from infections and diseases.
- Your breast milk is readily available for your baby whenever it is needed.
- Breastfeeding can support emotional connections between you and your baby.
Find out more from Children and Family Health Surrey, The Baby Friendly Initiative from Unicef, and the Surrey Breastfeeding Strategy.
In this video, Abi Eaton (a British racing driver) shares her personal experience of breastfeeding.
Abi Eaton shares her experience of breastfeeding
Look after your mental health
A variety of assistance, support, and guidance is available to Mums and their families during pregnancy and beyond. Antenatal and 0 to 4 services can be found at pregnancy, birth to 4 years.
If you are experiencing emotional difficulties, please do visit our mental wellbeing pages, additionally it may be advisable to talk to your healthcare practitioner or seek help.
The Perinatal Mental Health Service is operated by the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. It is a specialist perinatal mental health service for women who are planning a pregnancy, are pregnant, have a baby up to 12 months old, or those who have or at risk of developing serious and complex mental health needs.
In addition to the transformative nature of pregnancy and childbirth, it is possible for either you or your partner to feel depressed, anxious, or experience low mood. These feelings can arise due to numerous factors, such as hormonal changes, lack of sleep, fatigue, or the process of adjusting to parent life.
Here are a few ways to help manage these feelings:
- Be open about how you feel by talking to someone you trust, for example your partner, a friend, a family member, or your GP (General Practitioner)
- Engage in regular physical activity such as walking and take part in safe and enjoyable leisure activities
- Be kind to yourself - rest when needed and accept support from those close to you, willing to help
- Try to connect with other parents – for example at the child health clinics and drop ins.
Stop smoking
To give your baby the best start in life, quitting smoking is one the most important things that you and your partner can do. Smoking has multiple health-related consequences including affecting reproductive health for all genders. In men, among other issues, smoking can decrease the quality of the sperm or cause erectile dysfunctions. In women smoking tobacco products can have an adverse impact on menstrual cycles, ovulation and egg quality, miscarriage, premature birth, and long-term health conditions on the unborn baby.
If you are planning a pregnancy or are already expecting, talk to your GP, midwife or local stop smoking service about quitting smoking. One You Surrey Service have specialist stop smoking advisers to support you and your partner before and during pregnancy. There is also a video on the referral pathway to One You Surrey Stop Smoking Service (Maternity).
How to refer into One You Surrey Stop Smoking Service (Maternity)
Check your vaccinations are up to date
During pregnancy, your immune system (the body's natural defence) is slightly weakened to protect the baby. Consequently, the ability to fight infections may be lessened, leaving you vulnerable to infectious disease. As a prevention measure, check your vaccinations are up to date. Your midwife, GP or pharmacist can give you tailored advice. If you have no record of receiving vaccinations, we suggest making an appointment with your GP to discuss your vaccination needs. See more information on the NHS vaccinations in pregnancy webpage.
Helping your fertility
In the UK, around 1 in 7 couples have difficulty conceiving. It is important to consider health and emotional wellbeing when trying conceiving. This may include:
- Not smoking, or being a second-hand smoker, get help to quit
- Being a healthy weight, have a healthy diet in pregnancy, and maintaining appropriate physical exercise
- Limiting your alcohol consumption, get support to cut down or stop drinking
- Identifying the best time in your monthly cycle to conceive
- Feeling emotionally and physically well
- Seeking medical advice if you have pre-existing medical conditions or are taking medication; please visit our Healthy Surrey webpages on living with long term conditions
- Seeking healthcare professional advice on taking folic acid and vitamin supplements or alternatively Vitamins, minerals, and supplements in pregnancy.
The NHS website provides more information on helping you to get pregnant, planning your pregnancy and gives you an idea of how long it usually takes to get pregnant. If you feel that you are having difficulty getting pregnant, it is important to talk to your GP who will be able to offer advice and refer you for investigations if required.
Infertility is when a couple cannot get pregnant (conceive) despite having regular unprotected sex, the NHS website has more information on infertility.
In this video, Raathi shares her experience of living healthily before and during pregnancy.
#ReadyforPregnancy interview
Cut out alcohol
If you are planning to get pregnant this is a great opportunity to stop drinking. Get your energy back, get your fitness back, get your 'you' back.
By giving up alcohol you will help keep your unborn baby safe by reducing the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and your baby having a low birth weight. Drinking in pregnancy can also lead to long-term harm to your baby including foetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD).
To help you go sober during your pregnancy, Drymester have tips, information and tasty 'alcohol free' drink recipes to experiment with, #DRYMESTER.
Why not try developing a taste for hot drinks that are alcohol and caffeine free? There are lots of options available, plus they will help to keep you warm in chilly weather.
Learn more about pregnancy, birth and parenting
Bringing up children is a lot of fun but can also have its challenges. There are times when receiving advice can be helpful. If you are a Surrey resident, you can have free access to online parenting guides that contains top tips from childcare, education, and NHS health experts. Feel free to explore the resources provided by Children and Family Health Surrey at Free guides: understanding your baby, child or teenager.
You have a choice in which hospital will provides most of your care during and after your pregnancy. The trusts within the Surrey offer a wealth of information on pregnancy, birth, and parenting; look at their websites; maternity services in Surrey. Do not hesitate to contact the individual maternity units if you require more information.
Baby Buddy is an excellent free interactive app with over 300 short video clips from parents and professionals sharing useful advice including looking after your emotional wellbeing. Download the app from your app store or see the Best Beginnings website.
DadPad is a guide developed to support dads. As a dad you may feel excited, but you may also feel anxious, left out, unsure or overwhelmed. The DadPad can help by giving you the knowledge and practical skills you need. The resource will support you and your partner to give your baby the best possible start in life. Download the app, enter your postcode, and select 'Surrey Heartlands' to receive localised support and information.
#ReadyforPregnancy when having a long-term health condition
If you have a long-term health condition, it could be helpful to discuss your pregnancy plan with your GP to make sure you are as healthy as possible throughout pregnancy.
While there is usually no reason why you should not have a smooth pregnancy and a healthy baby, some health conditions require careful medical management to minimise risks to both you and your baby.
Discuss with your GP if you are taking medication for a condition, and unsure whether to stop or consider an alternative.
Find out more about:
- Asthma and pregnancy
- Diabetes and pregnancy
- Epilepsy and pregnancy
- Heart disease or congenital heart defect
- Pre-existing high blood pressure and pregnancy
- Mental health problems and pregnancy
- Being overweight and pregnancy
Exercise regularly
If you are not used to exercising, or have not done any in a while, now is a suitable time to (re)start. Even walking counts, and it is a great habit that may come in handy when you are trying to get a baby to sleep in the future. Following NHS recommendation try to keep active daily – 30 minutes of walking each day can be enough, but if you cannot manage that, any amount is better than nothing. The NHS website has more advice and tips to offer on their exercise in pregnancy webpage.
If your back or other joints are aching due to your growing bump, it may be worth visiting the NHS website; exercise help and more to find workable solutions. Consult a medical professional if you want to start something new but you are unsure if it is safe for you and your baby.
'This Mum Moves' is an educational website that provides free pregnancy workouts that you can do from home.
In this video, Shirley shares her experience of getting fit during pregnancy.
Shirley Stump shares her experience of getting fit during pregnancy
Healthy eating and healthy weight
The importance of eating a healthy and a nutritious diet is relevant for everyone but if you are planning a pregnancy or already expecting a baby this is particularly important. During and after pregnancy (if you choose to breastfeed), your baby relies on you to provide the right balance of nutrients to help them grow and develop properly.
By aiming for a healthy weight, you increase your chances of conceiving naturally, having a healthy pregnancy, and baby. Healthy Surrey has a range of tools to help you achieve a healthy weight and diet.
In this video, Ellie shares her experience of eating healthily before and during pregnancy.
#ReadyforPregnancy interview with Ellie Alameddine
Contraception
If you are not ready to have a baby, it is important to think about contraception and more importantly find the one that suits you. There are a range of different contraceptive options currently available in the UK. The type that works best for you will depend on your health and circumstances. There are several factors to consider when deciding which method of contraception is right for you.
The Contraception Choices Tool can help you find out which methods of contraception may be best for you and which are the most effectively at preventing pregnancy.
The NHS website also provides more about the different choices of contraception.
Please remember that also using a condom can help protect you against sexually transmitted infections (STI).
Without contraceptive, the chances of conceiving again shortly after childbirth is high, even if you are breastfeeding or if your periods have not returned yet. During your post-natal check, which is scheduled 6 to 8 weeks after childbirth, your GP will ask you about your contraception plan. However, it is not necessary to wait until this appointment as you can address this topic at any point, even during pregnancy with a:
- Health visitor
- Midwife
- GP
- A doctor or nurse at a contraception or sexual health clinic
For additional guidance regarding selecting the appropriate contraception after childbirth, we recommend referring to the resources available on the NHS website choosing the right contraception.
Having good sexual health is an important part of staying physically and emotionally healthy. There is a range of free and confidential services which are delivered in a safe and non-judgemental way to support you.
Information in other languages and British Sign Language
Booklets have been produced with pregnancy advice and tips in 10 commonly spoke languages, click on your chosen language below to download the booklet:
- Arabic (PDF)
- Bengali (PDF)
- Chinese (PDF)
- English (PDF)
- Hindi (PDF)
- Nepali (PDF)
- Polish (PDF)
- Punjabi (PDF)
- Romanian (PDF)
- Urdu (PDF)
- Easy read (PDF)
There is also more support on how to be #ReadyforPregnancy from:
- The maternity services in Surrey
- NHS Pregnancy Journey
- Start for life
- FPA (The Family Planning Association)
- Tommy's (pregnancy health information)
Useful links
- Baby Buddy app
Information for parents, co-parents and caregivers which can be accessed 24/7 to help you care for yourself and your baby during pregnancy, birth and beyond.