If you are planning a pregnancy, you can already create important conditions for a healthy course of pregnancy even before conception. This includes, among other things, taking folic acid, checking your vaccination status, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and clarifying any existing medical conditions and regularly taken medications.
- Why is preparing for pregnancy so important?
- Which examinations are useful before pregnancy?
- Using your cycle to get pregnant faster
- How you can adjust your lifestyle
Why is preparing for pregnancy important?
Some key stages of the embryo’s development take place in the first weeks after conception—often at a time when the pregnancy is not yet known. That is why it is advisable to consider certain health-related issues already when trying to conceive.
One important example is folic acid: it should be taken even before pregnancy, as the neural tube closes very early in embryonic development. Adequate folic acid intake can reduce the risk of neural tube defects. Vaccination status, existing medical conditions, regularly taken medications, as well as nutrition and lifestyle can also be relevant even before pregnancy. A healthy start in life
Pre-pregnancy counselling—also known as preconception counselling or preconception care—offers the opportunity to discuss these factors early on and, if necessary, adjust them to your individual needs.
Which examinations are useful before pregnancy?
Which examinations are useful before pregnancy depends on your personal medical history, existing conditions, regularly taken medications, and possible risk factors. In preconception counselling, we therefore assess individually which examinations and measures are relevant for you.
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Check vaccination status
Before pregnancy, your vaccination status should be checked and any missing vaccinations should be completed where possible. Protection against measles, rubella, and varicella (chickenpox) is particularly important, as the live vaccines used for these should not be administered during pregnancy. After vaccination with a live vaccine, pregnancy should be avoided for one month.
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Discuss existing conditions and medications
Chronic conditions such as thyroid disorders, diabetes, or high blood pressure may require tailored care even before pregnancy. Regularly taken medications should also be reviewed, as some active substances need to be adjusted or replaced when trying to conceive or during pregnancy. However, medications should not be discontinued on your own.
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Gynaecological preventive care
Your current gynaecological preventive care status can also be discussed. Whether additional examinations are advisable depends on your individual medical history and any possible symptoms.
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Clarify infections in a targeted way
Tests for certain infections may be useful depending on your medical history, symptoms, or individual risk factors. Routine comprehensive infection screening, however, is not necessary for every woman trying to conceive.
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Nutrient supply
A balanced diet and an adequate supply of important nutrients are advisable already when trying to conceive. Folic acid is particularly relevant, and supplementation should begin before pregnancy. Whether additional supplements or laboratory tests are useful depends on diet, pre-existing conditions, and individual risk factors.
Using your cycle to get pregnant faster?
The fertile days are around ovulation. If you know your cycle, you can better estimate this time frame and time intercourse specifically for the fertile window. Cycle tracking or ovulation tests, for example, can help.
If ovulation is unclear, your cycle is irregular, or pregnancy is taking longer than expected, professional cycle monitoring may be useful. Using ultrasound and, if necessary, hormone levels, follicle maturation can be observed and the timing of ovulation narrowed down more precisely.
How you can adjust your lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle creates good conditions for pregnancy and is advisable already when trying to conceive. This includes a balanced diet, sufficient exercise, and avoiding nicotine and alcohol. Body weight and the supply of certain nutrients can also play a role.
Preparations and behavioural tips for the time when trying to conceive:
Nutrition
Already when trying to conceive, a balanced and varied diet is recommended. The focus should be on vegetables and fruit, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. In addition, dairy products, eggs, and fish, among other foods, can be part of a balanced diet. According to current knowledge, there is no specific diet that has been proven to lead to pregnancy faster.
Once you are pregnant, certain foods should also be avoided to reduce the risk of foodborne infections such as listeriosis or toxoplasmosis. This includes, in particular, raw animal products and raw-milk products.
Dietary supplements
Taking folic acid is recommended already when trying to conceive. In addition to a balanced diet, women who would like to become pregnant should take 400 µg of folic acid per day or an equivalent amount of other folates. Ideally, supplementation should begin when you start trying to conceive, but no later than four weeks before conception, and should be continued until the end of the 12th week of pregnancy.
If you start supplementation less than four weeks before conception or only after pregnancy has begun, you should take 800 µg of folic acid per day or an equivalent amount of other folates. Folic acid is particularly important for early nervous system development and can reduce the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida (“open back”). The neural tube closes about four weeks after conception—this is why taking it before pregnancy is important.
Whether additional dietary supplements are useful beyond this depends on your individual diet and health situation and should be discussed with a physician if needed.
Weight
Both underweight and overweight can affect fertility and the course of pregnancy. When trying to conceive, it is therefore advisable to get as close as possible to a healthy weight. The focus should be on a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
In particular, overweight and obesity before pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of pregnancy complications such as high blood pressure and gestational diabetes. If you are underweight, an adequate energy and nutrient supply is also important. If you would like to change your weight while trying to conceive, individual counselling may be useful.
Smoking
Smoking can impair fertility and is associated with a reduced ovarian reserve. When trying to conceive, it is therefore advisable to stop smoking completely. This also reduces health risks for a future pregnancy. Smoking is associated, among other things, with an increased risk of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.
Alcohol
When trying to conceive, it is recommended to avoid alcohol. This also helps prevent alcohol exposure in the very early stages of pregnancy, when it may not yet be known. No alcohol should be consumed throughout the entire pregnancy.
Coffee
During pregnancy, you should consume caffeine only in moderate amounts. The upper limit is 200 mg of caffeine per day—from coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, and other caffeinated foods and drinks combined. This corresponds, for example, to about two cups of filter coffee of 200 ml each.
Well prepared for pregnancy
If you are planning a pregnancy, you can take important health-related factors into account in advance. This includes, among other things, taking folic acid, checking your vaccination status, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Existing medical conditions and regularly taken medications should also be discussed with a physician early on.
If you have questions about your fertility or pregnancy is taking longer than expected, our fertility specialists will advise you individually and clarify which further examinations may be useful.
