When Should I See a Fertility or Prenatal Dietitian?
If you’re thinking about trying to conceive (TTC) or are currently pregnant, you might be wondering when (and if) you should consider seeking out nutrition support. Many people unfortunately miss out on this opportunity for support or are inclined to do a quick one-time “review” of their diet.
In my opinion, neither of those situations are ideal. Especially when it’s incredibly beneficial and there are so many amazing practioners in the fertility and prenatal space!
Benefits of Nutrition Support While TTC and Pregnant
Working with a dietitian specializing in fertility and pregnancy will provide you with specific nutrition and lifestyle recommendations which can:
improve your chances of conceiving
decrease the risk of miscarriage or pregnancy loss
decrease the risk of anemia (low iron levels) during pregnancy
optimize your nutrient stores to support both you and baby
help you manage common pregnancy symptoms like nausea, heartburn, and constipation (psst, check out my post on Managing Nausea in Pregnancy)
plan for postpartum so you feel ready and prepared to support yourself and your family nutritionally
When Should I See a Fertility Dietitian?
If you’re thinking about TTC in the next several years, there’s no such thing as too early to check in with a dietitian. However, you probably don’t need that much time in advance if your only focus is on nutrition for fertility. If there are other areas of your nutrition you’d like to address, then by all means go for it!
However, folks are often surprised by how early you should be seeking out a dietitian for fertility. It’s not several weeks or 1-2 months before you’re hoping to conceive.
The real answer is at least 3-6 months before TTC.
Surprised? Most people are!
Diet and lifestyle changes take time, especially when they’re done in a gradual and sustainable way. My goal is not to overwhelm you, but rather work with you to make small changes that have a big impact. Research shows that it takes 3 months to build behavior changes into your routine and I recommend new clients ideally plan on a 3-month commitment.
With fertility specifically, egg and sperm quality is influenced approximately 3 months prior to conception. That means that during the 3 months before you TTC, we want to ensure your nutrition and lifestyle is optimizing your chances of conception and a healthy pregnancy. Having 1-3 months to work on diet and lifestyle changes is key to ensuring optimal egg and sperm quality.
When Should I See a Prenatal Dietitian?
As soon as you get the news!
Okay, maybe take some time to process and celebrate the news before jumping in to any research on your future dietitian.
Whatever stage of pregnancy you’re at, I’m a strong believer that having the support of a dietitian is an underutilized, but valuable resource.
A prenatal dietitian can help support you throughout your entire pregnancy journey. Each phase of pregnancy provides it’s own unique challenges and nutrition needs. A prenatal dietitian can provide guidance and strategies for addressing common nutrient gaps, managing unpleasant symptoms, and navigating the inevitable stream of food safety questions that will pop up. Instead of the stressful black hole of internet searches for “best foods for pregnancy” or “pregnancy nutrition”, a prenatal dietitian can provide targeted nutrition advice and guidance that’s unique to you and your needs.
On top of that, nutrition during pregnancy has been shown to have an incredible impact on the health of your baby, influencing even their risk for disease as adults!
Convinced, yet?
I admit, I might be a little biased, but I also truly think that working with a dietitian can be an incredible resource throughout your reproductive journey. And for many, insurance can cover a significant portion (if not all) of the cost of nutrition visits. There’s really no great reason to not take advantage of this resource!
If you’re interested in nutrition support during this time, I always recommend folks:
Find a registered dietitian who specializes in the area YOU need support in. We’re somewhat like specialist doctors - the majority of us have a specific area of expertise
Make sure they’re a registered dietitian rather than a “nutritionst”. Check out the FAQs page for more details about how these two terms differ.
Shop around and chat with a few dietitians to get a sense of who you click with best. Choose a dietitian who shares your same values for an overall more successful and enjoyable experience.
Come to the discovery call prepared with any questions you have (but also don’t stress if you don’t have any - we’ll make sure to fill you in with all the important details!).
If you’re ready to move forward and see if we’d be a good fit for working together, click the link below to schedule a free discovery call. I can’t wait to chat with you!
Interested to learn more? Check out these related posts!
