Testing It Up

Getting pregnant is a very huge step that married couples take. Couples take months, even years of planning and preparation before they undergo this life-changing decision, getting their minds and bodies ready for the huge responsibility of raising a child. Here’s a quick list of things that might help you in the process of preparing for pregnancy.

Get a Health Check

Pregnancy can be a very stressful thing for both the couple’s bodies. It is best to check if you and your partner are medically healthy. This is crucial because you need to consider your future child’s health. Your child’s future is in your hands.

If there is a history of medical conditions on either side such as diabetes or heart conditions, you should let your physician know about it. Pregnancy can be very stressful to your wife’s heart and this can be very dangerous for both mother and child. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can be passed on to your baby during pregnancy, so it is important you undergo a full check up before you plan on conceiving.

Avoid Stress

Stress has been known to have an effect on blood pressure, hormones and the menstrual cycle. If you are attempting to have a baby, try to relax and eliminate stress in your life.

Get Clean

If you and your wife are into vices such as smoking and drinking, then you should get clean now. Not only are these vices dangerous to your body, it poses many threats to your baby. Smoking, taking drugs and drinking greatly diminishes the chances of getting pregnant and can lead to premature birth, birth-defects and miscarriages.

Over the past few months, marijuana has found itself in the middle of the spotlight, with debates ringing far and wide calling for its legalization or otherwise. While this is going on, however, the illicit use of marijuana continues to thrive, and with it are side effects that could certainly have been avoided.

Marijuana debates have undoubtedly included arguments that relate to the substance’s “deadly” factor. We have posted features before that presented a comparison between how deadly marijuana use is to the community as opposed to excessive alcohol consumption, and we definitely see where advocates are coming from.

Still, as in anything, not all substances are for everybody. The recreational use of marijuana may have adverse effects on a certain rather delicate group of people — pregnant women.

The effect that marijuana use may have on pregnancy is discussed in a feature on drugfreehomes.org. While the mother herself may not find any noticeable differences to her physical state while using marijuana, or other drugs, studies would show that it is the one we do not see – the unborn child – that takes the brunt of adverse effects. The child, after all, is more sensitive than his or her mother, and it is the child who will suffer highly from the effects of marijuana use.

The active ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, reportedly hinders neuron development. This can lead to the development of problems pertaining to basic cognitive skills such as memory retention in the child. Basically, marijuana use during pregnancy may have effects to the unborn child’s mental development, which will manifest themselves during the child’s formative years.