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Upping the Odds of Pregnancy

Doing Your Best to Conceive

By Michele St. Martin

While not every situation is diagnosable, Dr. Barrere relies on information obtained during the preconception visit to decide whether or not to recommend genetic counseling. He says that in families with a history of cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease or other blood disorders (hemoglominopathies) or tay sachs disease, genetic testing to determine the risk of having an affected child may be advisable.

Some of the changes you may make prior to conceiving a child can be difficult to maintain. "Giving up artificial sweetener was tough, because now I have no alternatives," says Hooper. "I can't have too much fruit – it has a lot of sugar in it too, after all – so it's difficult to maintain dietary discipline without artificial sweeteners. We're born with a taste for sweet (ever try breast milk?) so it's hard to live without."

Peterson found family reactions to the preconception changes in her life difficult to take. "I knew for a while that we were going to start trying to conceive in the late fall, so I cut out caffeine and then eventually tried to drink mostly water," she says. "I kept up with my exercise routine – I've been walking 3 miles a day for the past two years. I also stopped being around cigarette smoke. Both of my parents smoke. That was the hardest, because they really don't understand."

It can be hardest to maintain preconception changes when months pass with no pregnancy in sight. "I gave up alcohol and caffeine entirely for May through July, and then I'll admit I became pessimistic enough that I went back to the occasional caffeine dose, and I would allow myself the occasional drink in the early part of my cycle until ovulation," says Myes. "I wouldn't have had any problem being totally caffeine- and alcohol-free if I had gotten pregnant within a few months, but as time dragged on, it became difficult to keep motivated. Kind of like, 'If I'm not getting pregnant anyway while being so conscientious, why not enjoy myself a little?'"

Want to see more?

• Worried About Conceiving? Simple Changes Can Increase Your Chances of Conception
• 10 Myths About Conceiving: Falsehoods That Could Hold You Up
• Folic Acid During Preconception: A Vital Role in Healthy Pregnancies
• Join the discussion on our Family.com community!

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