Improve Your Heart Health Before Pregnancy
At Viera Fertility Clinic, our goal is to give you the highest quality fertility care available. That includes fertility treatment that will result in the family you are dreaming about. In looking at creating the optimal wellness for you that leads to a healthy pregnancy, let’s talk about heart health.
One of the reasons that heart health is so vital during pregnancy is that carrying a baby puts a lot of stress on your body, including your heart. If you have any underlying heart conditions they can get worse during pregnancy. So it’s important to take steps to make sure that you’re in the best shape possible for conception and while you are pregnant. Here are some tips to improve our heart health before pregnancy from Viera Fertility Clinic, the best fertility clinic Melbourne has to offer.
Get a Heart Health Checkup
It’s best to make sure you get a full and complete physical before trying to conceive, especially if you end up needing fertility treatments. Go through your medical history, and your desire to get pregnant with your primary care provider. They will be able to complete a physical and do the proper bloodwork to make sure there aren’t any underlying health conditions that need to be treated before pregnancy, including the state of your heart.
Factors That Affect Your Heart Health
There are some risk factors that affect your heart health in negative ways. Some of those include the following.
- Having an unhealthy weight: Even if you aren’t technically obese, it’s better if your BMI is in a healthy range.
- An inactive lifestyle: They say sitting is the new smoking, and for many people, they aren’t getting enough physical activity in their day-to-day lives.
- Smoking cigarettes regularly: Daily smoking puts significant stress on all of your organs, including your heart.
- Excessive alcohol: High alcohol consumption can lead to cardiovascular issues resulting in clogged arteries in your heart.
- Higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels: If you have high blood pressure or cholesterol levels, that can lead to heart disease.
- A history of pregnancy difficulties: When there have been previous miscarriages or other problems conceiving, it’s important to figure out if there are underlying causes.
Improve Your Overall Wellness
The good news is that it’s never too late to improve your overall wellness before getting pregnant. There are definitely steps that you can take right away in daily changes for real results. That includes basic things like exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, and quitting smoking alcohol. Talk to a nutritionist if you aren’t sure exactly what type of food you should be eating. It mainly includes lots of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. Try to avoid processed foods, fast foods, and excessive sugar.
As far as exercise goes, aim for at least a half hour a day of physical activity five times a week, at the minimum.
For other things like high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, your primary care doctor may find it helpful to have you on certain medications. These medications, along with healthy lifestyle choices, will help to lower these health marker numbers into a better range.
It’s also a good idea to make sure that you are getting enough sleep and managing your stress levels. When you have fertility issues, it can weigh heavily on your mind. That’s completely understandable. Keeping your mental health in a good place is going to lead to having a healthier body and mentality.
Talk to Us About Any Heart Health Concerns
Contact us with any questions regarding fertility treatments and health. Our staff is more than happy to make sure that you understand all the beneficial steps you need to take while undergoing fertility treatment. We are excited for you to have the family you’ve always dreamed of.