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Summary

If you are trying to have a baby or are just thinking about it, it is not too early to prepare for a safe pregnancy and a healthy baby. You should see your health care provider for preconception care.

Preconception care is care you receive before you get pregnant. Your health care provider can help you figure out which steps you need to take now, such as:

• Finding and taking care of any problems that might affect you and your baby later, like diabetes or high blood pressure
• Increasing the amount of folic acid you get to prevent neural tube defects
• Getting up to date on vaccines
• Avoiding smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking drugs
• Trying to reach a healthy weight

By taking action on health issues before pregnancy, you can prevent many future problems for yourself and your baby. Once you're pregnant, you'll get prenatal care until your baby is born.

NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Start Here

• About Planning for Pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• About Pre-Pregnancy Care and Prenatal Care (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Can You Promote a Healthy Pregnancy Before Getting Pregnant? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Planning Your pregnancy (March of Dimes Foundation)
• Preconception Health (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Carrier Screening (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
• What Pre-Pregnancy Tests Might I Need? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Your Checkup before Pregnancy (March of Dimes Foundation)

Related Issues

• About Folic Acid (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Vitamins and Other Nutrients during Pregnancy (March of Dimes Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Women with Sickle Cell Disease and Preconception Care (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Specifics

• Trying to Conceive (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Fertility (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Preconception Care (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Pre-Conception Physical Activity and the Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Findings...
• Article: Preconception health assessments in occupational settings: Counseling versus written feedback.
• Article: Optimising the use of general practice medical records to support preconception...
• Preconception Care -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health Also in Spanish
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish
• How to Find Find an Ob-Gyn (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
• March of Dimes Foundation Also in Spanish

Men

• Healthy Sperm: Improving Your Fertility (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Women

• Fallopian Tubes: Is Pregnancy Possible with Only One? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Questions to ask your doctor about getting pregnant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Steps to take before you get pregnant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish