Why preconception health care matters
What is preconception care?
Preconception health care occurs at least three to four months prior to conception and aims to support both female and male fertility. Ensuring great quality chromosomes in the egg and sperm leads to increased chances of ovulation, conception, and healthy pregnancy. At present one couple in six is infertile and one woman in four will suffer a miscarriage. The combined evidence of many eminent researchers shows that conditions such as infertility, miscarriage, low birth weight, premature birth, malformation, breastfeeding difficulties, learning problems, allergies and many more are often preventable with preconception health care.
"When a flower doesn't bloom you fix the environment in which grows not the flower"
Why is the preconception period so important?
Four months prior to ovulation a follicle, which houses the body's largest cell, your ova (egg), is stimulated to go through its most demanding transformation.
At the same time, sperm, the body's smallest cell but equally complex goes through its own transformation called spermatogenesis.
Spermatogenesis and follicular development are the most intensive during the three to four months prior to ovulation and conception. At this time they are extremely susceptible to DNA damage. The food you eat, the environment you surround yourself with, stress levels and how deeply you sleep can all have an impact on your hormonal regulation and fertility. Some factors are out of our control, others we have the ability to reverse or alter, setting the foundation for our fertility to flourish.
