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 speak with your healthcare provider about preconception care.
Preconception care is care you receive before you get pregnant. It involves finding and taking care of any problems that might affect you and your baby later, like diabetes or high blood pressure. It also involves steps you can take to reduce the risk of birth defects and other problems. For example, you should take folic acid supplements to prevent neural tube defects.
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.
National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
- Preconception Care(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/preconception/default.htm
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Preconception Care
(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/preconception_care.cfm
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Good Health Before Pregnancy: Preconceptional Care(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp056.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/sp056.cfm
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Pre-Pregnancy Planning(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1156.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nacersano.org/centro/9388_9908.asp
- Trying to Get Pregnant?(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/tryingtogetpregnant/
- Pre-Pregnancy Diabetes Boosts Risk for Birth Defects(07/30/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67560.html
- Women and Men Urged to Seek 'Preconception Care'(07/22/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67252.html
- Preconception/Prenatal Family History Questionnaire(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - Links to PDF - http://www.marchofdimes.com/files/GYP_PrenatalQuestionnaire.pdf
- Folic Acid(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/
- How to Get Pregnant(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/how-to-get-pregnant/PR00103/METHOD=print
- Pregnancy: When You Have a Chronic Health Condition(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/pregnancy/PR00122/METHOD=print
- Trying to Conceive After Age 35(American Pregnancy Association) - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/gettingpregnant/ttc35.html
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Ovulation Calculator(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/tools/ovulationcalc.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/elembarazo/herramientas/ovulacion.cfm
- Your Pre-Pregnancy IQ(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) - http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/28699_1953.asp
- Genetic Counseling(American Pregnancy Association) - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/gettingpregnant/geneticcounseling.html
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Integrating preconception health into public health practice: a tale of... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18481921&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: A 40-year-old woman with diabetes contemplating pregnancy after gastric bypass... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18460652&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Pre-conception counselling in primary care: prevalence of risk factors among... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18426523&tool=MedlinePlus
- Preconception Care -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=preconception+care[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- ACOG's Physician Directory(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.acog.org/member-lookup/disclaimer.cfm
- Find a Reproductive Endocrinologist(Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility) - http://www.socrei.org/SREImap.html
- Find a Reproductive Surgeon(American Society for Reproductive Medicine) - http://www.reprodsurgery.org/frsia.html
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - http://www.acog.org/
- American Pregnancy Association - http://www.americanpregnancy.org/
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March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation - http://www.marchofdimes.com/
Also available in Spanish http://www.nacersano.org/
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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
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National Women's Health Information Center(Dept. of Health and Human Services) - http://womenshealth.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/
- Healthy Sperm: Optimizing Your Fertility(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/fertility/MC00023/METHOD=print
- Fallopian Tubes: Can I Get Pregnant with Only One?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/pregnancy/AN00088/METHOD=print
- Infertility - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infertility.html
- Pregnancy - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pregnancy.html
- Prenatal Care - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/prenatalcare.html
- Men - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/men.html
- Pregnancy and Reproduction - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pregnancyandreproduction.html
- Women - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/women.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Preconception Care is the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/