Planning a pregnancy

If you’re thinking about, planning or trying to have a baby there are lots of easy things you can do to prepare yourself and your body for pregnancy.

Healthy diet and supplements

A healthy diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle at any time, but it’s especially important if you’re planning a pregnancy.

As well as a healthy diet you will also need to take a folic acid supplement. It’s recommended that you take 400 micrograms of folic acid each day while you are trying to get pregnant and until you are 12 weeks pregnant.

Read our healthy eating information.

Smoking and alcohol

Being pregnant is one of the best reasons for you and your partner to stop smoking. For more information and support to stop smoking visit our smoking and pregnancy page.

Experts are still unsure exactly how much – if any – alcohol is completely safe to drink during pregnancy, so the safest approach is not to drink at all. Visit our drinking and pregnancy page for more information.

Physical Activity

Being physically active is a good way to keep yourself healthy and there are lots of free activities available around the borough, take a look at the move more page for more information.

While there is lots of information and advice available about planning a pregnancy and calculating your fertility it can be frustrating and confusing if you’ve been trying for a while and nothing has happened. If you have any concerns or have been trying to get pregnant for over a year without success the next step is to speak to your doctor or GP who will be able to advise you further.