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Home › Articles › Preparing for Pregnancy › Preconception Visits

Preconception Visits

Working with Your Doctor for a Healthy Conception

By Nancy Vondrak

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Your Top Concerns
While much information is required from a couple at a preconception visit, the appointment should be an exchange of communication with you and your partner also asking your doctor any questions that either of you may have. The following are some questions suggested by both patients and doctors:

  • Are over-the-counter and prescription medications safe to take? Include over-the-counter cold and headache remedies.
  • Do you offer help with weight loss before pregnancy, if obesity is a factor?
  • Do any blood tests need to be done to measure immunity to certain infections such as rubella and chicken pox?
  • What are the initial signs of pregnancy?

The March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation recommends that all women who could become pregnant take a multivitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to help prevent birth defects.

At a preconception visit, patients are often prescribed prenatal vitamins to ensure they are getting the proper amount of folic acid prior to conception. Laura Gaebelein, a new mother from North Royalton, Ohio, recalls the strong emphasis her doctor placed on folic acid at her preconception visit.

"After talking with my doctor, he checked the over-the-counter multivitamin I was already taking to make sure it provided enough folic acid," she says. "Since it did, I was able to continue taking it while trying to conceive."

Doctors also encourage eating healthy foods that are high in folic acid. Orange juice, green leafy vegetables, beans and whole grain products are naturally rich in folates, which are the natural forms of folic acid. Some products such as fortified breakfast cereals, enriched grain products and vitamin supplements are a source of a synthetic form of folic acid that is easier for the body to digest than the natural form. One bowl of Cheerios, for example, provides 50 percent of the amount needed daily.


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