Get Ready for Pregnancy

Preparing yourself for a baby

Are you having sex?

Are you thinking about having a baby?

Do you think you might be pregnant?

It is never too soon to make your body a healthy home for an unborn baby.

Before you get pregnant is the best time to make sure your body is ready. But women often get pregnant when they are not expecting it. If you are already pregnant, start taking care of yourself right away. This way, your unborn baby will have a safe place to grow.

Every woman wants to have a healthy baby. Most babies are born healthy, but some have health problems. Some problems can be prevented by what you do now. Many others can be made less serious.

Nobody likes to think about problems. However, nobody wants to learn too late that there was something they could have done to prevent a problem. Preventing a problem is better and easier than trying to fix it later.

Start out right before pregnancy

If possible, plan to get pregnant when you are ready to care for a baby. You and your child both will have a better life if you are healthy. It also is very important to have loving support from a partner, family, and friends.

Some problems begin in the first days after pregnancy begins, before a woman knows she is pregnant. Others happen as the baby grows. Pregnancy also can affect a woman's health condition, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

Whatever your situation, you can make your body ready to be a healthy home for an unborn child.

How healthy are you now?

Your habits, your health, and your family's health history can affect your baby. The items below could give you problems during pregnancy or cause your baby to be born too early. Knowing about them now means you can do everything possible to keep yourself and your baby healthy.

Check any items below that are true for you.

Lifestyle:

____I rarely eat fruits or vegetables three times a day.

____I diet often or think I am too fat or too thin.

____I smoke cigarettes.

____I drink more than one glass of beer, wine, wine cooler, or hard liquor every week.

____I am younger than 18 or older than 34.

____I take medicines often.

____I have used illegal drugs.

____I work with x-rays, dangerous chemicals, or lead.

Health History:

____I have diabetes, seizures, or high blood pressure.

____I have or have had a sexually transmitted disease (STD), like herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, or HIV/AIDS.

____I have had problems during a pregnancy or have had a baby who weighed less than 51/2 pounds at birt