You are 3 weeks and 2 days

Now that you might be pregnant, it makes sense to adopt a healthy lifestyle and look after your wellbeing.

257 days until your due date

Once your pregnancy is confirmed in the next week or so, you'll be flooded with health information. Is your diet balanced? Could you cut back on salt, sugar, and fast food? Are you eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, especially leafy greens, which are a good source of folic acid? Are you exercising enough, and safely? Even though you don't know you're pregnant yet, it's worth knowing the recommended advice, making some basic diet and lifestyle changes, and learning the early signs of pregnancy so you know what's normal.

If you have an existing medical condition or take medication, get medical advice.

Focus on

Your health: Lifestyle changes

If you smoke, quit, and so should your partner. Once you're pregnant, not smoking lowers the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death.

Stop drinking alcohol completely, too. The US Surgeon General advises avoiding alcohol altogether while trying to conceive and during pregnancy, because no safe level is known.

Explainer

Gentle exercise

Gentle exercise such as walking or swimming is ideal before, during, and after pregnancy.

The lowdown

Cultural beliefs

Here's what some cultures believe:

Hindu fathers part their partner's hair three times, from front to back, to help the baby grow.
Some countries place great emphasis on protecting the unborn baby. In Thailand, a pregnant woman's abdomen may be painted to ward off evil spirits, and giving gifts before the birth is thought to attract them.

As a matter of fact

Smoking and fertility

Cigarette smoke contains at least 30 chemicals that can harm fertility.

Because smoking slows the rate at which cells multiply, it may do the most damage in the first days and weeks of pregnancy. As well as causing fertility problems in women, it can harm sperm and lower testosterone in men.

This is general information based on NHS guidance, not medical advice, and every pregnancy is different. Talk to your midwife or GP about anything that worries you. If your baby's movements slow down or change, or you have bleeding, severe pain or leaking fluid, call your maternity unit straight away. In an emergency, call 999.