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I mentioned to my doctor last physical that I thought we would be trying in the next year or two and he said make an appointment. I am def planning on doing so, though when I spoke with him last he just gave simple info about prenatals. I think it is important since there are many vaccines that pregnant women can't take, and that they want you to get at least a month or so before.
@justelope: Hmm, that's a good idea! I didn't think about vaccines! So will you be going to an OB or just back to your family doc?
I just asked my OB/GYN at my previous yearly exam before we were TTC if there was anything I needed to know or do. She said (1) prenatal vitamins, (2) fish oil, (3) eat plenty of meat/protein.
I don't think preconception appointments are worthwhile unless you or your SO have underlying health issues that you think will interfer with getting pregnant.
@abbyful: Thanks for your comment! That's what I'm on the fence about. I just don't know what they could tell me that would make or break the pregnancy that I can't find from other bee's and Google; I don't want to waste my time, my OB's time, and my insurance's money for them to tell me nothing particularly good. Thanks for your input!!!!!
Make an appt if you want...but if your prepping eat well, cut down on alcohol and take prenatal vitamins!
@Miss Orchard: Sweet! I'm 5/5 on recommendations from this post so far! I don't drink (but one or two on rare occasions) and I'm on a healthy diet right now for the wedding ;) hope I can keep with this diet after the wedding!!!
Costco has these great prenatals that have fish oil/DHA in them that I totally love. They don't have a fishy aftertaste the next day like my regular fish oil does.
I just mentioned it when I was at the (regular) doctor for something else, about 6 months before we were planning to TTC. She got me to do a blood test to make sure my vaccines were up to date and I didn't have any nasty diseases, and told me to start taking folate supplements as soon as pregnancy became a possibility. I don't know if I'd make a special trip unless I had any real concerns, but if you're there for another issue it's a good chance to mention it.
I brought it up at my yearly visit with my gyn to see if there was anything I needed to do or should be doing before. She gave me some info about getting PG (I haven't read it yet but mostly timing, I think) and said to keep taking my Women's One a Day or a prenatal if I wanted to. We also talked about which medicines I should avoid when the time comes (I take a lot of different things for headaches, but nothing serious).
So, yeah, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to do it but since I was going anyway and I knew we wanted to TTC in the next year, it made sense.
About a year before TTC, I had my annual GYN appt. I asked my doctor if I needed to make a pre-conception appt. She just said no - just to start taking prenatals and to go off my BCP when we were ready to TTC.
@winniewolf: Same here. Just asked at my annual, and was told to go on Prenatals and get off BC three months prior to trying.
You guys have good docs that do your PAPs! Lol! I haven't had insurance for a long time so I have to go to this clinic that takes family pact, which I am sooo thankful for, but they are so busy that when I brought it up to her she just said anatomically I should be fine, and didn't give me any other tips, told me to go to my regular doctor =( LOL. Thanks for all your input guys!!!!
I made one and my doc thought it was a little odd. So clearly they don't get a lot of them. She was very sweet and we talked about a few things, but I don't think it was necessary. My recommendation would be to just talk to your OB/Gyn at your annual appointment and ask what you would need to do if you wanted to start TTC before your next annual appointment.
I did a lot of research on my own, so I felt like I already knew all of the things that she told me (start taking prenatals immediately, at least 3 months prior to TTC, workout, eat well, etc etc etc). I did have some questions about vaccinations, but I ended up not doing any testing because it wasn't covered by insurance prior to getting pregnant.
So overall, she didn't tell me a lot, but I felt better after going!
I just had a pre-conception appointment this morning! I looked around at various local OBs and found one that offered pre-conception appointments (not many do).
I've done all of my previous pap smears through my regular physician, so I also wanted to establish a relationship with a regular OB/GYN.
We didn't have any pressing medical issues that were concerning me, but the doctor did a full blood panel, urine analysis, and DH and I both got the DTaP vaccine - Diphtheria,tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough) all at my request. I'm also Jewish, so I asked them to do the genetic screening that is common for Ashkenazic Jews who are prone to some specific genetic abnormalities.
I had him look at the bottle of prenatals I've been taking, because I wanted to make sure he thought the ones I was taking were good (his answer was yes for the time being - until we get pregnant, then I would need to switch to another kind).
I practice hot yoga, and I wanted his opinion on whether or not I should continue doing yoga in a hot room. (He said it was okay for now, but to switch to regular temperature yoga once confirmed pregnant)
DH has a bit of a drinking problem, so hearing from a doctor that lots of drinking lowers sperm count and effects his abilities as a father was really eye opening. So, I'm glad he was there to hear that form an actual doctor.
Overall, totally glad we went!
I just talked to my OB at my regular appointment. She did a blood screen (some ethnicities have higher rates of certain genetic conditions) - if I had turned up positive for any, my husband would have had a workup done too. Other than that, we just discussed going off the pill (which boiled down to: stop taking it after my next period) and any diet concerns (she mostly wanted to make sure I didn't eat a lot of tuna).
I had one during my annual visit, but it honestly wasn't helpful. I had high hopes and was excited about it. I thought she might do some additional tests to make sure I'm ready for conceiving, but they only tested me for Rubella and she just provided me with information I already knew. I had purchased a couple of books on pre-conception so between those and the internet (and the Bee!) I felt like she just told me things I already knew. I guess I hoped for more enthusiasm ("Yay--you want to have a baby!") but it felt very routine.
I just saw my Doctor this morning and told her I am planning to conceive this fall, and would like the tests to see if I'm immune to Rubella and Chicken Pox, since I only had a mild case of the CP when I was a kid.
She acted happy for me and prompty filled out the blood work req form. She also mentioned that if I need the vaccines, that needs to happen at least 3 months before TTC, so I'm glad I'm planning ahead!
then, since I had babies on the brain (nice to not be obsessing over the wedding for once, haha!) I went to the local library and took out a Pre-Conception Guide book. oh boy!!
I met with my Dr. this morning. The meeting was for an annual exam and a pre-conception meeting. I learned more from talking with mom's & mom's to be, the internet, and books than I did from the Dr this morning. But then again maybe that's why he didn't go into great detail.
He told me two things: Go ahead and try on your own for a few months, if no results then go to the store and get the ovulation strips. If after six months still nothing, then feel free to come back in. He told me not to stress and that everything I was already doing was great (multi-vitamin with 400mg of folic acid). And that my weekly glass or two of red wine was healthy, that I don't need to give it up yet. Not gonna lie, I was super happy about that.
I had my annual exam about two weeks before I conceived. I used it as a time to ask about TTC questions, though we already were for a few months at the time. She just asked about my cycle and said to BD every other day.
I had one....she tested me for PCOS because it runs in my family and she tested my hormones levels. Everything was ok but it still doesn't explain why Im not pregnant so I cant it "helped" but at least it ruled out a lot!
Just wanted to say thank you all for all of your amazing advice! I learned SO much from re-reading this thread over and over again. Really appreciate it!
I just had my yearly physical/PAP and took that time to ask questions and get some more info. I feel pretty prepared, so it was more of looking for her "medical approval!". She asked about prenatals (which i've bene taking since Nov/Dec 2011), said to BD every other day and come back if it's been 8-12 months of no BFP. She sent me for blood work as part of my regular check up and also filled in a requisition for a blood test which we can use if we get a BFP at home with a HPT. Saves us making an appt - we can just go right in and she will call with results. I asked if her she saw any medical reason for us not to, and after asking some simple questions about my hubby's health she said to have fun!!
Since we don't plan on TTC until this fall she said to go off BCP a few months before trying, but i think i'll be going off this month to give myself 6 months off and learning my cycles.
So - it wasn't a preconception appt as such, but definitely used the time to my advantage and asked all the things I wanted to ask!
I found it very helpful, but I also have some medical issues that needed to be addressed. I was taking 3 different medications and needed to leanr what my alternatives were, unfortunately the medications I was on cause limb malformation and I needed to stop taking them at least 3 months prior to TTC. At this appointment I also got a series of bloodwork done to see if I was the carrier or any major illnesses and also got my TDAP shot. If you are healthy and aren't on any medication that I would still recommend getting the TDAP as well as genetic testing. Let's say you and your DH are both carrier for cystic fibrosis, now you would no and would be able to alleviate having a child with cf.
I just told my OB we might be trying and she only said things I already know, like "take prenatals and don't drink alcohol." I don't think a pre-appointment is necessary.
I asked my OB/BYN at my last exam about what I should do. She told me to eat healthy, exercise, take pre-natal vitamins, avoid alcohol, and to not worry until we've been trying for at least one year :)
Unless you have any known medical issues that would affect fertility/pregnancy, I don't know how helpful they would be.
It sure was fun to talk about having a baby, though!
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Hi all.
On some of the sites I'm looking at, I've seen that they suggest a preconception appointment. I'm a medical scribe, so I type for the doctor during the visit, and I work OB once per week and have never had a preconception visit. Although, my OB days are with a family practice doctor... So I dunno if that changes things. But I work family practice like 75% of the time, and have never seen one there either. (I work pedatrics and urgent care the rest of the time, so clearly it wouldn't be there hahaha).
Have you/did you make a preconception appointment with your OB? Was it helpful? Should I make one? I don't even have a family doctor, so it would be hard to get established with someone, but if it was beneficial, I'd totally make it happen!