Question:
I am planning to get pregnant in about two months. I was wondering what I can do to really prepare my body for this. Do you recomend any books or anything to help avoid gaining too much weight, getting stretch marks, vericose veins, and everything else that goes along with the pregnancy. p.s. I excersice on a regular basis now.

Answer: Well, the first thing is not to be afraid of pregnancy as something that makes you fat. It is something your body is meant to do, in fact normal pregnancy and lactation makes you healthier in the end (less likely to have osteoporosis and breast cancer, to give only two examples). Both stretch marks and varicose veins are largely hereditary, though excellent nutrition can help somewhat (certainly can't hurt). There is *no* way to know ahead of time what the right amount of weight for *your* pregnancy will be. Even just the amount of water weight you will put on (usually in the last trimester) varies so much that it is simply impossible to know whether you have gained "too much" or "too little." (Okay, ninety pounds is almost certainly too much, but the range of "normal" is huge.) All you can say is "Did I eat good foods? Did I eat what appeared to be a sufficient quantity?" I've known several thin women who put on about 40 pounds (or more) with a singleton pregnancy, and took the weight off right away afterwards. I would REALLY hesitate to say that they gained "too much," even though it was over the amount doctors typically recommend. Then, too, there are some women, not necessarily fat ones, for whom it is normal to gain less than average. You don't know at all what pregnancy will do to your metabolism, so counting calories isn't going to help -- sure, seven pounds of baby (plus placenta, etc.) is made up of a certain number of calories, but how many did you use in the *process* of making the baby? No one knows for sure, and it probably varies from woman to woman anyway. Difficulty getting the pounds off after the baby is born is often (I won't say always) more related to your consequent lifestyle changes, not necessarily what your body has been through. My experience was that breastfeeding (and chasing after babies) took off all but a few pounds, but that the final four pounds or so stayed with me until the babies (I had twins) weaned. Yoga, walking, and swimming are all excellent exercises for pregnancy. One woman in my pregnant moms' group who has danced all her life says that most dancers are taught a kind of control, a "smile even though it hurts" philosophy that is actually harmful in labor. I think some other sports might be the same way. (Doesn't mean you can't do them, just means that you may want to counteract that training with other thoughts.) Yoga acts the other way, encouraging release of tensions. You might enjoy the books _Active Birth_ by Janet Balaskas and _Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year_ by Elizabeth Noble. Hope some of these thoughts are helpful -- sorry this turned out so long, and hope it is not too preachy.