At the crux of a good relationship lies the equation of the three ‘T’s—Truth, Trust, and Transparency. These are the golden rules give any kind of a relationship, be it friendship or leadership, that special touch of perfection and takes it a long way.
The Trust-Truth-Transparency trio creates reciprocity, enhances mutual understanding and mutual respect. These are essential ingredients for partners who are planning to bring into this world a new life—a child.
The decision to have a child is an extremely delicate one and therefore needs careful planning. The partners must engage in proper dialogue with each other before taking the final step. Moreover, one must primarily understand that conceiving is only but a part of a bigger process, which begins, rather should begin much before the conception.
Here are a few ways to plan for pregnancy:
- Use the Calendar: using the calendar is an essential part of pregnancy planning. Tracking dates of ovulation, scheduling and maintaining appointments with doctors, keeping track of food habits are imperative practices if you’re planning to have a child. Many couples are, nowadays, opting sperm freezing facilities. With modern technology the process of sperm freezing can be completed at you home itself. But, it goes without saying that this particular blessing of an option also needs planning and proper execution.
- Book appointments: Google has got answers to most of our questions but as far as pregnancy is concerned one must take help from a professional. A proper health checkup is essential for the to-be-parents. Mental health issues are one of the most neglected of issues as far as pregnancy planning is concerned. Often there are stigmas attached to mental health problems. But both parents may experience several emotional and/or psychological problems during pregnancy, starting for stress, anxiety, to other, more severe disorder. The body of the to-be-mother goes through a lot of hormonal and physical changes during the period of pregnancy affecting her psychological and/or emotional equilibrium. Pre-pregnancy or pre-parenthood counseling is an extremely important step towards the new beginning and must be given equal importance as it is given to physical health. All you need is to remember one the sayings of wise old men and women, “a sound mind in a sound body”.
- Everyday healthcare: each day before, during and after pregnancy is crucial. Providing care and support in everyday life is of utmost importance. Food habits must be monitored and a proper personalized diet plan must be created for the to-be-mother. Maintaining a proper body weight during pregnancy is also essential. One can take recourse to the practice of yoga. It is said that yoga helps to relive pregnancy cramps. It is also proven that yoga releases stress and helps in creating a proper mental equilibrium.
- Don’ts: there are a lot of things which must be avoided during pregnancy, the foremost of which are substance abuse. Smoking, drinking alcohol, or doing hard drugs or marijuana is a big ‘No-No’ before, during and after pregnancy.
Indulging in any of the above can negatively affect sperm health. These practices are also detrimental to the health of the foetus and may cause serious damage. Abstaining from these practices is essential.
These aspects of planning, whether it be booking appointments with doctors of counselors, or avoiding smoking or alcohol, or keeping up with the diet are a part of something bigger and greater and calls for equal involvement of both the to-be-parents. Planning is an activity which involves a lot of people but essentially the partners. Planning, apart from its usefulness also facilitates dialogue, better communication and reciprocity between the partners, where the trio of trust, truth, and transparency is yet again the key!