Prenatal Care Before Getting Pregnant
Healthcare Before Pregnancy
Ideally, prenatal care should start before you get pregnant. If you're planning a pregnancy, see your health care provider for a complete checkup. Your physician can do routine testing to make sure you are in good overall health and that you do not have any illnesses or other conditions that could affect your pregnancy. If you've been experiencing any unusual symptoms, this is the time to report them.
If you are already being treated for a chronic condition, such as diabetes, asthma, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart problems, allergies, lupus (an inflammatory disorder that can affect several body systems), depression, or another condition, you should talk to your doctor about how the disease could affect your pregnancy. In some cases, you may need to change or eliminate certain medications — especially during the first trimester (12 weeks) — to reduce risk to the fetus. You may also need to be even more vigilant about managing your condition.
For example, women with diabetes must be especially careful about sustaining their blood glucose levels within the levels directed by their health care provider, both before they begin trying to conceive and during their pregnancy. Abnormal glucose levels increase the risk of birth defects and may lead to other complications for both mother and baby.
This is also a good time to talk with your health care provider about other habits that can pose a risk to your baby, such as drinking alcohol or smoking. Ask about starting a prenatal vitamin that contains folic acid, calcium, and iron.
It is especially important for women who are planning to become pregnant to take vitamins with folic acid beforehand, because neural tube defects (problems with the normal development of the spine and nervous system) happen within the first 28 days of pregnancy, often before a woman even knows that she is pregnant.
If you have decided to have a baby, the most important thing you can do is to take good care of yourself so that you and your baby will be healthy. Women who get the proper care and make the right choices have a very good chance of having healthy babies.
