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What You Should Know Before You Conceive

Veteran Advice Before You Conceive

By Shel Franco

It starts out innocently enough: your first baby doll, your first baby-sitting job. The instinct to be a mother is a powerful drive. By the time you are in your 20s, the desire to procreate might be the first thing on your mind each morning, and the stuff that dreams are made of each night.

Deciding to conceive can be as difficult as plotting and planning for years, or as simple as throwing your birth control out the window. But before you take action, iParenting's diary writers have a few bits of wisdom to share. Chances are, you'll learn a thing or two you never even dreamed about.

Getting pregnant isn't always easy. Not every couple conceives on the first try. Far from the ideal, many people find themselves months behind schedule, wondering if infertility might be an issue. If you think your worry stops once the test reads positive, think again.

"I thought miscarriage only happened to someone who wasn't healthy or was kind of frail," says Pregnancy Today diary writer Kathy Woltman. She learned the hard way that miscarriage can happen to anyone and for no apparent reason. While having this information shouldn't turn you away from trying to conceive, it should begin to prepare you for the possibility that conception is unpredictable. That's a head-start Woltman wishes she could have had.

"I wish I had known that miscarriage happens to a lot of women, and it is a fact of pregnancy," she says.

Want to see more?

• Get Pregnant: The Right Way
• Myth Busters: 10 Not-so-true Statements
• Safeguard Your Fertility: 6 Simple Steps
• Talk about it!