fate, health, and welfare of your baby.  During this critical time period, the genetic structure of the developing ova and sperm lays the foundation for the genetic inheritance of your baby. Paying attention to a few factors in both the potential mother and father can make an enormous difference in the outcome of a pregnancy, or even in the ability to conceive at all.

We call this plan a PRECONCEPTION program.  Just as it took many years for medicine to understand the supreme need for optimal nutrition for a mother-to-be during pregnancy, in the future it will undoubtedly be recognized that the 100 days prior to conception, when the raw materials for the baby-to-be are being formed, is as critically important.

When I learned about the concept of a Preconception Program, I invited Belinda Barnes, the pioneer developer of the first such program in England, to come to America and teach us why her Foresight program is so effective.  Seventy-five physicians and nurses attended. Ms. Barnes described how her program enabled infertile couples to conceive without fertility drugs and with an almost perfect record of no abnormal births, including prematurity.

If you are planning a pregnancy, you cannot afford to not learn about how to have an almost perfect pregnancy.

The preconception program encompasses our understanding of nutrition, infections, social poisons (including tobacco, alcohol, and drugs), as well as toxicity from heavy metals, industrial and commercial chemicals, allergic manifestations, and contraception materials.  The program is really quite simple to do, and highly effective.

The following is data from a research study evaluating the Foresight Preconception Care Program conducted by Dr. Neils Ward at the University of Surrey, England.   This data is very convincing proof of the value of a preconception care program.  The results are all the more striking considering that nearly all couples attracted to the Foresight Program had not been able to conceive prior to the program or had previous distressing pregnancy outcomes (miscarriages, stillbirths, low birth weight, birth malformations) which motivated them to want to avoid a recurrence of those problems.

ALTOGETHER, 175 BABIES WERE BORN TO THESE 204 INFERTILE COUPLES
(86 PERCENT SUCCESS RATE)

Reference for all of above data:  Preconceptual Care Questionnaire Research Project by Dr. Neils I. Ward, ICP-MS Facility, Department of Chemistry, University of Surrey, July 1993.

Of all the programs we have offered at the Center, our Preconception Program has been one of the most exciting and rewarding.  It was developed with direct guidance from Mrs. Belinda Barnes, the founder of Foresight.  Infertility is almost epidemic in our country and there is nothing more rewarding than helping a couple to have a healthy, normal baby.  Even when existing medical problems in a man and woman require the use and expertise of assisted reproductive technology, employing this relatively simple program can double the success rate.  Our Preconception Program is used in conjunction with your obstetrician’s care.

If you are interested in more information about The Center’s Preconception Care Program, please call us at (843) 572-1600 and ask to speak with our Clinical Coordinator, Sheila.