Children wish

Children wish

Wanting children: start with a healthy lifestyle

Do you want children; then make sure that you and your partner already live healthy before pregnancy. Preferably six months before conception. Certain substances can be harmful to your child's health before pregnancy. Even the very first period when you are just pregnant and you do not even know it is an important period for your child's health. In the first weeks of pregnancy, a baby develops at lightning speed. That is why it is important to live a healthy life before pregnancy. But how do you best prepare for your pregnancy? In the children wish consultation hour we give you personal advice about  healthy living and becoming and becoming pregnant.

Healthy food

Eating healthy is of course not only important during pregnancy, but also before and afterwards. It's all about variation, so that you get enough of all important nutrients. In addition, it is wise to drink approximately one and a half to two liters of water every day.

Healthy food ensures a healthy body and a good place for your child to grow. Everything about healthy food can be found on the website of www.voedingscentrum.nl .

Folic acid

If you want to become pregnant, it is advisable to use folic acid. Folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects in the child. In an unborn baby, the neural tube is the start of the spinal cord and brain. If something goes wrong during the construction and development of the neural tube, abnormalities of the spinal cord or brain can occur during pregnancy. There is then an open back, an open skull, cleft lip or open palate.

Folic acid is vitamin B11. It is also found in bananas, oranges, legumes, yeast, milk and green leafy vegetables, for example. You need extra of this vitamin for pregnancy. Take one tablet of 0.4-0.5 milligrams of folic acid every day up to and including the 10th week of your pregnancy. The tablets are available from the drugstore or pharmacy without a prescription. It takes about 4 weeks before extra folic acid is absorbed into your body. Therefore, you should already start taking folic acid as soon as you have a child's wish.

Vitamin D

In addition to folic acid, the Health Council - an independent, scientific advisory body - also recommends the use of vitamin D. Take 10 micrograms daily in a supplement before you get pregnant. It seems that this has a beneficial effect on the bones of the baby, because its construction starts in the first three months of pregnancy.

More information about vitamin D can be found on www.voedingscentrum.nl .

To smoke

Smoking or passive smoking can reduce your fertility. If you smoke 15 cigarettes a day, the chance of getting pregnant is halved and you are more likely to have a miscarriage. Smoking men are also less fertile. The sperm cells are more often abnormal in shape and less mobile than in non-smoking men. On the website of the  Trimbos institute you can find more information about smoking and getting pregnant.

Alcohol

Drinking alcohol reduces the chance of getting pregnant. You are also more likely to have a miscarriage if you drink alcohol when you are pregnant. You can only rule out the risks of alcohol with certainty if you and your partner stop drinking alcohol before you become pregnant. If you continue to drink alcohol, the baby has a chance of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. If you are unable to stop drinking alcohol, ask for help from your doctor and get other help. Do you want more information about alcohol and becoming pregnant? Then check the website of the  Trimbos Institute .

Work

Do you or your partner come into contact with hazardous substances or gases at work? Or does one of you work with radiation? Bear in mind that this can affect fertility and pregnancy.

If you want to become pregnant, it may be wise to know whether there are risks associated with the work you do. More information about working and pregnancy can be found on the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment  and on the website of the FNV .