Your health before pregnancy

Plan your pregnancy

• Have a conversation with your partner before pregnancy.

• To prevent unplanned pregnancies, use effective birth control correctly and consistently.

• Learn about family planning.

Healthy diet

• Take a daily multivitamin that contains 400 mcg of folic acid to prevent anemia and birth defects.

• Maintain a healthy weight.

Healthy lifestyle choices

• Don't smoke.

• Don’t drink alcohol if you might become pregnant or if you’re trying to become pregnant.

• Any amount of alcohol can harm an unborn child.

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is 100 percent preventable if a woman doesn’t drink alcohol while pregnant.

• Don't use drugs. Call 1-800-CHILDREN for help quitting.

• Use condoms to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Resources

Your mental health

• Depression is the most common complication of pregnancy. Learn more about pregnancy-related depression.

Talk to your doctor

• If you are trying to have a baby or are just thinking about it, it is not too early to start getting ready for pregnancy. Preconception health and health care focus on things you can do before and between pregnancies to increase the chances of having a healthy baby. Schedule a wellness checkup with your doctor. Find tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Get tested for sexually transmitted infections, including a test for HIV/AIDS.

• Make sure your vaccinations are up to date.

• Some medications can cause birth defects. If you take prescription medications, find out if you need to change or reduce medications before getting pregnant, or discuss birth control methods that are safest for you.

• If you have a chronic illness, such as diabetes or asthma, ask about how your illness might affect a pregnancy, or discuss effective birth control methods that are safest for you.