VIHAR – LIFESTYLE – BEYOND BIRTH CONTROL!

Once in the mind-set of being a parent, span of the flamboyant lifestyle is really short!

Work hard and party harder becomes a distant dream!

You must be wondering – What?!

I am not kidding!

Inception of a unicorn demands much more than just stopping the birth control ;)!

Ayurveda suggests to have balanced body constituents, of both to-be father and mother, to beget and this balance has its roots in the way one chooses to live!

Our Social, hep and demanding lifestyle sometimes becomes hurdle in conception thus creating a catch-22 situation for the couple. Adapting your lifestyle slightly will have a better chance of conception.

Yes it is just adaptions and not a complete change! Believe me! :)

Here are 8 magical adaptations to conception! Cheers with an icy mock-tail ;)

NOTE: THESE ADAPTATIONS ARE SUGGESTED FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN BY DOCTORS TO BEGET A HEALTHY BABY!

1. GET CONTROL OVER STRESS

Well! I really don’t have to tell you how stressed today life is with all the gadgets, 24x7 availability and our expectations from self and the world around us!

We get up in the morning with 1000s of TO-Dos top of the mind and sleep with lakhs of thoughts! It becomes imperative to get a control on this part of life. What one needs to do is start the quest of Inner Peace and be a Kung-Fu warrior! Haha!

Work life is one of the major source of stress levels, reportedly.

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Thus, tackling it first should be the utmost priority. The trick to do so is to prioritize and complete the errands within the stipulated time. Like the famous saying goes “WORK NEVER ENDS” – one needs to focus the energy on the most urgent and important tasks of the day and complete your day within office hours! This will not happen with a whim of the wand – it will happen overtime, but you need to start as soon as you think you are ready for Parenthood!

 Another way of achieving better stress handling is through good sleep! Good 8 – 10 hours’ sleep takes care of stress levels in certainly the magical way. Frankly speaking, I struggle to find my sweet spot sleep after being a parent. I would suggest you to relish this time to sleep well and sleep stress free!

2. CURB YOUR ADDICTIONS

MOST FAMOUS | KNOWN | FEARED FACT is NO ADDICTIONS!!! Especially when everyone has one!

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The effect of addictions on inception of your Unicorn is what matters at this stage of a TO-Be Parent.

Drinking and smoking are known to have worst effects on quality of Sperm and Ovum, while Caffeine, Sugar, Junk food and over exercise reduces the chances of conception in the very cycle.

While smoking as an addiction needs a serious help other addictions can be curbed by choosing a substitute and a healthier option – for example: Mock-tail over cocktail or hard drinks in a social setting, small cup of coffee with very low content of caffeine – there are many ways to deal with the addictions if one really wants to!

Make sure you curb your addictions at least 4- 6 month prior to conception. 

3. INDULGE IN HEALTHY EATING

Healthy and mindful eating are talk of the town now a days! One can Google and just get a complete chart of healthy eating. However what one needs to keep in mind while trying for conception is – Schedule | Nutrition | Pre-Natals says Dr. Shipra Katiyar

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Schedule: With our hectic work and personal life, scheduling food intake takes a back seat. The work demands often leads to intake of food at irregular hours. Which results in discomforts and lifestyle diseases. Thus, right time is imperative to gain benefits of food!

Set a routine for your breakfast, lunch, evening snacks and dinner - and stick to it!

Nutrition: This is most important element of healthy eating. Choose to eat nutritious food! Getting over the junk hogging and indulging in food full of vitamins, minerals like calcium and iron takes a good year as per my personal experience. Ultimately, the world of Junks is so tempting and mouth-watering ;) I will discuss the Aahar – Pre-conception Food guide in next article.

 Pre-Natals: Doctors suggest to have Folic acid as the core-natal supplement for mother at least three months prior to conception. Folic acid consumption aids in having a good and fertile ground for the baby to grow, eliminating the chances of having any birth defects. Mother can consume other pre-natal supplements – but make sure you have at least 5mg supply of folic acid consumed per day.

Fathers-to-be are suggested to intake Ashwagandha under Ayurveda to sustain high energy, strong immune and healthy semen production while giving the 4 month sperm development cycle a conducive environment. An average intake of 5 -10 gms of Ashwagandha daily for 90 days is suitable for healthy lifestyle and sperm generation. 

4. WEIGH RIGHT WEIGH HEALTHY!

Right body weight plays a vital role in generation of baby producing elements.
Weighing down during pregnancy is a trend worldwide! But is it a trend that one should follow blindly?

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Well! Doctors says that a BMI between 20 and 24 is optimum for conception. The height to weight ratio describes the need to achieve a balance. The BMI Categories are:

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
• Overweight = 25–29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

If you want to weigh down before pregnancy, you should look to achieve a healthy weight within the healthy BMI range defiantly not anything less than that!

5. SAY NO TO BIRTH CONTROL AND OVER THE COUNTER DRUGS

Birth control pills modify the egg formation cycle and thus it is important to stop it way in advance. Dr. Shipra Katiyar suggests to stop it 3 months prior to your plan of conception, as it takes at least 3 months to get your cycle to normal. Other birth control methods have no significant effect on Ovum or Sperm generation and thus could be used till the D Date arrives ;)

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When trying to conceive it is important to avoid any types of self-medications as it may lead to miscarriage without you being aware of it. It is difficult to deduce pregnancy until you are 4 -6 weeks into it and thus taking this small preventive step proves to be helpful for many to-be parents.-says Dr. Sathe.

6. TRACK THE CYCLE

Well, tracking your cycle is no rocket science, every girl is born with a mental log of their cycle. However, it is important to track the dates of the cycle as it helps to deduce the ovulation period correctly. For average 28 –30 days cycle, Ovulation is observed to happen in between 10^th and 15^th day. Wow- that’s lots calculation ;). You can get the complete deducing cues here.

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Technology is a boon! With so many mobile applications and at home tests available one can easily keep a track of the cycle without fail. The only thing you need to do is make an entry without forgetting the dates ;)! That is a task, isn’t it!

7. TIME YOUR ACT

Doctors suggests to indulge in the act in between 10^th and 15^th day for optimum results. Couples come under pressure if they have to plan this impromptu, impulsive and spontaneous act.

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The trick is to spend a quality time next to each other - watch romantic movies, cuddle for hours or just enjoy time alone with each other before the act, so as to completely indulge and enjoy the act.

All things set and done, the same feel and pleasure of just being you with your better half won’t be available in plenty, post conception ;).

8. BEWARE OF THE HEALTH ALARMS!

Doctors suggest to get the initial health check-ups done for both mother and father to-be, so that they can decide the line of treatment and consultation at the time of conception. The health tests initially feels overwhelming due to its overall connect with illness, however consider these tests as a sign of better future health and family as these are done with a motive of birth defect prevention.

Depending on the results, Ayurveda suggests detoxification procedures that balances the doshas and toxins of the body so as to avoid any passage of defects to the baby.

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So these tests includes the set of tests for:

• Lifestyle diseases – BP and Diabetes,
• Hormonal Balance – hypo and hyper Thyroid,
• Disorders – Sickle test, thalassemia, HIV, HBSAG
• Basic information like blood group and Haemoglobin test

These adaptations work very well towards a new you! A mother / father you!

Adapt well! Cheers to Unicorn (definitely with a mocktail ;))

रिchie

PS: Thank you S NAGALAKSHMI a guest unicorn with artistic inclination on board. Nagalakshmi believes "art doesn't have any limitations", which is why, she expresses herself in strong yet contemporary and joyful illustrations.