Trying to Conceive: Your Pre-Pregnancy Checkup

We know about the importance of prenatal medical care in assuring the health of a pregnant woman  and her baby. But most experts now suggeststhat women start seeing an obstetrician before they become pregnant for something called  as  pre-pregnancy or preconception care. Your doctor would want to start a pre-pregnancy checkup by getting a full medical background  from both you and your partner. He or she may also want to run a number of tests like  as blood tests and a Pap smear to make sure that neither of you have any medical conditions that could affect pregnancy or your chances of conceiving.

 Pre-Pregnancy Checkup might test for illnesses like  as:

• German measles immunity
• Chickenpox immunity
• HIV
• Hepatitis B immunity
• Herpes
• Other STD (like  as chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea)
• Thyroid issues (with a TSH test)
• Other conditions, like  as toxoplasmosis and parvovirus B19 (also known fifth disease)

 It, Finally, depending on your ethnicity, your doctor may recommend genetic tests for:

• Sickle cell anemia
• Thalassemia (an inherited form of anemia)
• Genetic diseases common in the Ashkenazi Jewish population, such as Tay Sachs disease

If it’s time for you to update your vaccines, it is very  important to do so before you are pregnant. A Some  specific vaccinations such  as the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella), varicella (the virus that causes chickenpox), or hepatitis A vaccines increase the risk of birth defects. Experts advise that you wait at least 28 days after receiving some of these vaccinations before trying to conceive.