- Preconception
- 1st Trimester
- 2nd Trimester
- 3rd Trimester
- Labor & Delivery
- Postpartum
- & Beyond
Perhaps you’re thinking about starting a family or preparing to freeze your eggs. Or, maybe you’ve hit some obstacles in the baby-making journey and are seeking fertility treatment. Whatever the case may be, there are many things you can do to prepare physically, mentally, and emotionally to optimize your chances for a healthy future pregnancy as well as cope with any setbacks you encounter along the way.
The preconception period encompasses family planning, natural conception, deciding on and preparing for egg freezing, and fertility treatment. It can also mean seeking a surrogate or applying for adoption.
If you’re planning to conceive yourself one day, it’s wise to consider making healthy lifestyle and nutritional choices to support hormone health, egg quality, and a nourishing environment for implantation. It’s also important to address any sexual or pelvic floor dysfunction or past sexual trauma that may hinder intercourse or implantation.
If you’re embarking on this journey with a partner, consider nurturing your relationship health. As career grows in priority for many women, beginning to better understand now how you want your family and career goals to align can help you plan better for the future as a mama.
And finally, the emotional, physical, and mental struggles of infertility cannot be underestimated. It’s a rollercoaster that can last from months to years, and often requires difficult decisions. Navigating this process alone can be overwhelming and isolating, but reaching out to care providers who understand the delicate nature of this and who seek to empower you can make the journey a whole lot less lonely.
Planning to start a family is a momentous step in anyone’s life, but the right team can help get you closer to your dream of hearing the pitter patter of little feet.
Part coach and part cheerleader, a fertility coach provides emotional support and guidance to hopeful mamas who are navigating egg freezing, infertility (natural or with ART) , surrogacy, and adoption as they confront difficult decisions and optimize their chances for a healthy future family.
A practitioner of Chinese medicine, a perinatal acupuncturist uses microneedles placed along specific meridians to help calm the nervous system, reduce anxiety, and even enhance circulation to improve fertility outcomes.
As a physical therapist trained in pelvic floor health, pelvic floor specialists help women rehab after sexual trauma, pelvic surgery, or pelvic floor dysfunction for safe and healthy intercourse and the promotion of implantation and conception.
Personal trainers, group fitness instructors, and yoga teachers who specialize in perinatal exercise support mindful exercise, especially in those mamas working to balance hormones, gain or lose weight, and with those undergoing fertility treatment.
Perinatal masseuses use bodywork to assist in relieving muscle aches and soreness that are common in fertility treatment in addition to calming the nervous system to reduce anxiety.
Licensed counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, and psychologists can help hopeful mamas navigate infertility anxiety and worry as well as cope with past sexual trauma that may influence intercourse and conception.
A nutritionist can assist in optimizing dietary choices to help balance hormones; gain, lose, or maintain weight; and support egg health for those looking to conceive or freeze their eggs.
Licensed counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, and psychologists specializing in relationships, can help couples deal with the stress and overwhelm of infertility treatment, adoption, and/or surrogacy — which can strain many couples — with more clarity.
Especially helpful for career-oriented hopeful mamas, life coaches help mamas reconcile their professional aspirations with their personal and familial goals.
A health or wellness coach works with hopeful mamas to find harmony between many aspects of their lives, from nutrition to lifestyle to career to relationships, in order to create a healthy, balanced environment for conception.
Northeast Acupuncture
Hudson Valley Physical Therapy
Little House Calls Psychological Services