Pregnancy and childbirth are not accidental happenings in a woman's life. In todays fast moving world, people who plan pregnancy and parenting in advance are increasing in number. Many couple visit gynecologists before getting pregnant for counselling. This is called pre-pregnancy counselling. Women can find out many things through these counselling like the right time to get pregnant, avoiding medications without knowing about pregnancy, if there is any illness, proper treatment.

Proper age for pregnancy: According to Indian laws, a girl who attains the age of 18 years can get married. But conceiving at this age is not recommended. This is because the development of reproductive organs would not have completed at this age in a girl. By the age of 20, the uterus will attain the capacity of conceiving a baby. Preganancy after the age of 30 is also not recommended. When the woman becomes older, the chances that the baby will have abnormalities may also increase.


Preparation for Pregnancy: Couples should prepare for pregnancy atleast 3 months in advance. If the husband has the habit of smoking, he can quit it for the safety of his family's future. If the parents has the habit of drinking, it should be discontinued, especially the mother. Men with excessive drinking habits will have very less number of sperms. This will result in infertility. Get pregnant only if both the partners have the wish to bear the child.

Precautions before getting pregnant:

* Women with heart problems must control or cure the disease with medication or surgery before conceiving.

* Obese women must reduce their weight by dieting or exercise before pregnancy itself. Obesity can cause gestational diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy. This may result in the lower growth rate of the embryo.


* Take vaccinations against German measles (rubella) and hepatitis B. If these diseases occur during pregnancy, it will result in many abnormalities of the baby.

* Women with diabetes should control the disease before pregnancy itself.

* If the mother has hyper thyroidism, the baby may become mentally retarded. So the condition must be treated before becoming a mother.

* Take enough folic acid and multivitamin tablets before three months of pregnancy.

The right time to conceive in a menstrual cycle:

Ovulation takes place on the 14th day after the menstruation. So those who wish to conceive should have the intercourse during these days. Man's sperms will live inside the women's body for many days. But the ovum that comes out of the ovary of a woman will live only for 12 to 24 hours. So the ovum should reach the sperm before it gets destroyed.