Advice and support
Are you thinking about having a baby?
Well, there are things you can do now to improve the health of your future pregnancy and child/ren:
- A good place to start to find out what will help you is the questions on: Tommy's Tool (Tommys.org).
- Visit: Start4Life - Pregnancy (NHS) for:
- An essential guide to a healthy happy pregnancy.
- Parenthood information, which includes breastfeeding
- Vaccinations.
- Your mental health and more.
More about the planning stage
Speak to your GP, they can give you more personal health related advice to support your pregnancy plans.
Anyone can be affected by health conditions related to their genes, which can lead to genetic disorders. Common examples include:
- Cystic fibrosis;
- sickle cell disease, thalassaemia;
- and some that affect other systems in our bodies.
We all have genes! So, the more we understand the issues and the risks, the more we will be able to make informed choices.
If you have any worries, talk to your GP. They can advise you of any steps you need to take.
If you are planning a pregnancy:
- Taking folic acid helps to reduce the risk of problems as your baby develops in the early weeks.
- You should also take a daily vitamin D supplement.
It is the best time to make other lifestyle changes too, such as:
- Stop smoking (NHS) with support from Yorkshire Smokefree Calderdale.
- Alcohol intake. The key message is do not drink alcohol during pregnancy.
- Healthy diet (NHS).
- Being more active (Active Calderdale).
Other useful links
- Healthy Early Years Support (HEYS).
- The Lullaby Trust. Offers safer sleep guidance.