We recommend a visit with your doctor when you and your partner have decided to start a family. This visit should include a full physical examination including a Pap smear and cervical cultures, as well as blood tests if these have not recently been done. These blood tests will test you for your immunity to rubella and chicken pox and your blood type. If you are not immune to one or both of these viral infections, you may need to be vaccinated. In this case, it is best to wait a month before trying to conceive.
Optimizing the health of the mother before conception is important for improving pregnancy outcome. This is particularly true for certain women, such as those with medical disorders or who regularly take medications. Preconception care is more important than prenatal care for prevention of birth defects.
This visit may also include a discussion of your medical history, your partner's medical history, your family's genetic history, and optimization of your health. We also will usually discuss healthy lifestyle issues and nutrition. I recommend starting prenatal vitamins with a prenatal DHA supplement (Expecta Lipil for instance) at least 3 months before you start trying for pregnancy.
Many women think that they need to stop their birth control method several months in advance before starting to try to conceive. This is true only for DepoProvera (the shot) and maybe for the Mirena IUD. It is not necessary to stop pills, the ring, the patch, etc. until you are ready for a pregnancy.
As always, if you have questions, talk to your doctor or make an appointment to see me.
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