If you’re thinking of getting pregnant or you’re still a bride-to-be everybody will eventually find out and start flooding you with advice. From friends to family to co-workers to neighbors and even strangers! First of all, you have to know that the Do’s and Don’ts of pregnancy start even before marriage.

When you meet “the one” and decide to get married, you should sit together and discuss your future. One of the important first steps is that both of you need to have a medical checkup. Every young couple should go through this as advised by the ministry of health in Jordan. The next step is you should discuss having children with your prince charming. One important piece of advice for the young bride is to avoid getting pregnant during her honeymoon. You and your spouse should spend more time together married and get to know more about each other after living together before you decide on taking a big decision like bringing a life into this world. So before getting married you should also visit a Gynecologist together to learn about birth control. You should also make sure that you have immunity to one of the childhood diseases, which is “Rubellea” German measles. If you had German measles during your childhood then you would have immunity. If not, you should be vaccinated at least three months before becoming pregnant. The virus of German measles, if contacted during pregnancy, can damage the sight, hearing, heart and brain of an unborn child. Also, do let your Gynecologist know if you’re taking any other medication.

After getting married when you ”lovebirds” decide that the time is right to have a baby then it is advisable to visit a Gynecologist again. One of the best ways to avoid problems during pregnancy and its complications are regular medical exams.

When you decide to have a baby, you should consider a variation of things to give the little human a good start in life. If you and your husband smoke then it’s time to throw these cigarette packs out the window.

If your husband does not stop smoking, you should definitely stop. Smoking during pregnancy puts the fetus at risk. Each cigarette a pregnant woman smokes reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the baby. A pregnant woman should stay away from people who smoke as well; second hand smoke poses the same dangers during pregnancy. So say goodbye to those shisha cafes and restaurants! Alcohol as well is a no-no.

Alcohol goes through the placenta to the baby and has a variety of negative effects on the developing fetus. Sometimes it may cause mental retardation, birth defects and dysfunction of the central nervous system. If you’re overweight before becoming pregnant it is a good idea to lose some excess weight as during pregnancy you may gain between 10 and 14 kilos. So all the excess weight would make your body tired. On the other hand, if you’re underweight then it is good to add a few extra kilos.

When you’re pregnant, your Gynecologist will advise you on the following:

• Have a regular medical checkup;

  is one of the most important things a mommy-to-be should do.

• Maintain a balanced diet of 3 meals a day;

  whether she is pregnant or still trying to conceive.

• Eat more folic acid rich foods;

  such as green leafy vegetables and breakfast cereals. Hello kale and Weetabix!

• Don’t drink too much coffee;

  and limit your consumption of caffeine containing drinks like Pepsi.

• Be careful about consuming liver and liver products;

  as they contain very high level of Vitamin (A), which can lead to abnormalities in a developing baby.

• Do moderate exercise.

  If you are used to doing high impact exercises every day, then it is advisable to cut it down to 3 times a week doing low impact for half an hour. If you get short of breath and tired you should stop. It’s important to try to listen to what your body is telling you.

• Don’t raise your body temperature by exposing yourself to the sun on a hot day and you should not use a sauna, hot tub or take a very hot bath.

  This is such a huge topic and today I tried to sum up the most important general first points. I wish you a safe and exciting pregnancy.