Having a baby is one of the most important times in your life. So it's important to ensure that you and your partner are in optimum health. Making a few lifestyle and nutritional changes may also help to give your unborn baby a good start in life. And remember, it's not only a woman's responsibility; men need to do their fair share too.

Healthy lifestyle gives your baby a good start.

8 point preparing for pregnancy checklist

1. Healthy Diet. Firstly, you need a good diet. Mums and dads to be need to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Men should ensure they eat plenty of foods rich in zinc, such as baked beans. Men and women's diets should contain fresh foods and vegetables, fish, poultry, pulses, whole grains. Quit junk food. Avoid certain fish (marlin, shark, swordfish), liver and alcohol.

2. Right Vitamins and minerals. Women may want to consider a pre-pregnancy supplement containing folic acid. Men may want to consider one containing zinc.

3. Timing & Lying. Work out when you are most fertile, and make the most of it. The day you ovulate and those days immediately before and after are the best days to conceive. Eggs can survive for 12 to 24 hours after release; whereas sperm can survive for 3 to 5 days inside the cervix, womb and fallopian tube. Your most fertile day is 14 days before the first day of your next period. Many women think it is 14 days since the last period - do not count forward from your last period, count back from next period. If you have a regular cycle, this is easier to calculate. If your cycle is irregular, it becomes very difficult to calculate. Ideally, you should be having intercourse 2 days before you ovulate, on the day of ovulation, and two days after. After intercourse, do not get up and go to the loo. Lie in bed as long as possible, which gives the sperm a chance to spread out into both fallopian tubes.

4. Reduce anxiety and stress. High anxiety and stress levels are known to affect fertility. So if you're working hard, staying up late, or trying to meet high pressured deadlines, make positive changes to reduce some of the stresses in your life. Why not think about taking a yoga class, or use a relaxation CD, or go for a long walk.

5. Cigarettes and Alcohol. Excessive alcohol intake and smoking are bad news for healthy sperm production, so you and your partner should quit smoking and say goodbye to those party nights, and hello to something a lot healthier.

6. Exercise. You must take regular, gentle exercise, and aim for three 30 minutes session a week. Why not try walking, swimming or cycling.

7. Drugs & Medication. If you or your partner need to take any medication, do make sure you tell your GP that you are trying for a baby.

8. Discuss potential issues. Before you start actively trying, it might help to discuss some of the potential issues that could arise from having a baby. For example, how will a child change your lifestyle? What are your attitudes to raising a child? Will either of you give up work? How will you cope financially? Because as any new parent will tell you, the minute you bring a little person into the world, your lives will change forever.