Pre-conceptional care refers to the care that you should receive before you get conceived for a safe and enjoyable pregnancy and begetting a healthy baby. Most of the times, pregnancies are an accident happened for a few couple, whereas it should be one which is carefully planned with consent of both partners and with utmost desire of both to have a healthy baby. Pregnancy is not a deal, indeed that should be a small wait to upgrade yourselves to parenthood and enjoy being upgraded. Understand that pre-conceptional care is not only for the female but for male partner too, as both are contributors for their child. So, wisely plan and prepare yourselves for a healthy pregnancy.
The 5 P’s for healthy conception
- Plan and Prepare
- Purify
- Pray
- Perform and wait
- Perceive
PLAN & PREPARE
Age of marriage
Ayurveda says 25 years for male and 16 years for a female as apt age for marriage as that is the most potent age, physically, emotionally and sexually for both partners. Moreover, that is the period where your body is approaching the final stage of growth and development, one having high tolerating capability, making it easier to cope up with partner as well as with their families. In present era, the age mentioned can be understood as the minimum age for marriage and of course there are chances that preferences may vary as age progresses. At least, you can consider this age as one for engagement ceremony, so that later, your teens – once settled, can move forward for the next step of marriage. This might even give couple ample time to understand each other, plan their future, meanwhile carve them to the finest of their form for achieving a happily ever after life.
Consanguinity
Wed lock should be arranged from different Gothra – to mean that the male and female partner should be from a different family – so as to prevent inheritable diseases running in a family. This also helps in understanding the vivid culture and tradition, that persisted then, and to make a couple even stronger to practise those religious rights that they followed. It might have also prevailed to balance the economy of the society – maintaining a cycle throughout.
Whom to select?
Many a times, the female partner is given more importance while considering a child, even though both partners are contributors for a progeny. Probably, its because fertilization, implantation, growth and development of fetus, parturition, lactation and rearing of their child – is all performed mainly by the female partner. Considering this aspect, Ayurveda says a few criteria, that should be satisfied while selecting the female partner for marriage. She should have a well acknowledged character, good looking, have a good name and fame around her locale, free from any diseases and of course do not have loss of any body parts. If a female is unhealthy in any of these aspects, it may interfere with all the priory mentioned and clearly will be resulted in her baby’s health too. That might be the reason why these criteria were considered important even during the ancestral period and of course even now.
“Your bundle of happiness is on the way…”
PURIFY
Now that we understood the initial few concepts of premarital care, we can now explore the pre conceptional care as such.
Being fertile is the first step to the next Parenthood. Before planning for conception, which is the primary aim of marriage or building up of a family, both partners should preferably undergo purification therapies (The Panchakarmas). This would help in bringing back hormonal balance from the imbalanced state – which may persist in both partners. Of course, this also bring in quality sperm & quality ova (the healthy gametes) – which are primarily needed for a healthy conception. This is also attained by the diet advised for partners. Male should include more of ghee, milk and more of sweets in his diet, which in turn promotes quality and quantity of sperm where as the female should consume more of sesame, black gram, fish etc that increases the Pitta dosha – which is basically needed for formation of healthy ova. Later, thus formed healthy gametes and its fusion, produces a healthy progeny. This also helps us understand that the diet and regime followed by couple prior to conception, indirectly affects their progeny. This step of purification empowers the partners by making them physically fit to conceive and enter to parenthood.
PRAY
Being fit physically along with a form of spiritual rejuvenation is indeed needed for a healthy conception. For that, Putreshti yagnja – a sacrificial ritual, is performed, to please God and to seek their blessings. This would help couple to gain emotional stability, make them accept the truth of entering parenthood by thoughtfully planning for the same and that is why your Vaidhya says “Pregnancy should be planned, not an accident”. This step of spiritual and emotional cleansing makes you in a pleasant state of mind with confidence, that is the psychological wellness, which is again the need for healthy conception.
PERFORM AND WAIT
You might be astonished to know that even the steps of the coital act are also well explained in Ayurveda literatures. No other medical science would have this perfectly explained it. Never to forget that intention of intercourse is a healthy progeny and not merely pleasure, as many of us conceive it now. Rithu kala, the ovulation period is considered best for couple intending conception. During this time, with strong desires of both partners, with a comfortable, pleasant, romantic mood created, mild soothing fragrance spread every where to enhance the mood, maintaining a happy and pleasant mind, couple should seek blessing from Lord Almighty for a healthy progeny with strength, vigour and lustre like God and then perform the coital act.
Importance is given for the posture, as female should lie supine with flexed knees and male over her. This is considered ideal as Tridoshas remain unvitiated in this posture, to attain healthy conception. Any other positions would vitiate Tridoshas and even may obstruct the pathway of sperm into in utero. This should be performed every day for 8 days, which later is not to be performed for another month – which is the period of wait, to know whether conception has occurred or not. If conception has not occurred, it is obvious that menstruation reappears after a month and again perform the act and wait until conception.
Importance is given to Rithukala, happy and pleasant state of mind, desire of both partners, prayer and the act of intercourse – which all points to the elementary steps that a pre-marital or pre-conceptional counselor would convey.
PERCEIVE
Now that you know you have entered to the Parenthood, happily enjoy the period to its fullest – because not everyone is blessed with this time. So never forget the 5 P’s of Pre conceptional care, for a healthy baby. The rest will be soon mentioned in another article – The Conceptional Care.
“I am not telling you that its going to be easy, I am telling you that its going to be worth it…”
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