The scenario of a couple sipping wine to get into the mood with plans of getting pregnant is quickly becoming passe. Our knowledge about alcohol's preconceptual effects are less defined than during pregnancy. However, we know that liquor depresses immune function (15), disrupts the liver and directly enhances malnutrition (16). Research with rodents implies that even moderate alcohol consumption may induce genetic damage and increase the occurrence of mental and physical handicaps in a child due to liquor's effect on the egg and sperm (3).

There's no question you shouldn't take drugs before trying to conceive a baby. Marijuana, for example, is double jeopardy. When a joint is deeply inhaled, the lungs receive more tar and carbon monoxide than from cigarette smoking (3). In addition, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)--the psychoactive compound similar in structure to sex hormones--tends to accumulate in the ovaries and testes, posing a potential threat to a child's genetic material (17). Marijuana may also be linked to increased fetal deaths and malformations (3).

Cocaine adversely affects sperm, and thus the children conceived from them. Perhaps because this drug attaches directly to sperm (18), it creates sluggish and abnormally formed sperm, as well as diminishing its concentration in semen (19).

Many obstetricians advise patients to eliminate or cut down on coffee and other caffeinated beverages during pregnancy. This is also wise for people planning a family. Researchers have varying opinions on caffeine's effects (20,21). But recent studies show caffeine disrupts insect reproduction, causes skeletal impairment in rodents (20) and induces mutations among cultured hamster lung cells (22). One investigation discovered women who drank a lot of caffeine were less fertile than occasional or non-users (20).

Stressed Out
Stress, the term used to describe the emotional and mental thorns in our lives, has been linked to a host of illnesses, including heart disease (23), dental cavities (24) and the common cold (25). Paavo Airola, ND wrote that stress "can tear your health down faster than can inadequate nutrition" (26). When preparing to become pregnant, keep stress in balance.

Undue stress upsets reproductive health in both women and men. Negative emotions can decrease sperm count and motion (27). Prolactin, a female hormone responsible for milk production and breast growth during pregnancy, also tends to stop menstruation and reduce fertility. This hormone and its effects may increase under you're under stress (28).

There's even scientific evidence that wanting to become parents is important for the health of a future child. A Czechoslovakian study found that children born to mothers who asked for but were denied abortions grew up with more psychological problems than children whose mothers wanted to have a baby (29).

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