Health Topic

Preconception Care

Preconception care is care you receive before you get pregnant. It involves taking care of problems that might affect you and your baby later.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Preconception Care

If you are trying to have a baby or are just thinking about it, it is not too early to prepare for a safe pregnancy and a healthy baby. You should see your health care provider for preconception care.

Preconception care is care you receive before you get pregnant. Your health care provider can help you figure out which steps you need to take now, such as:

  • Finding and taking care of any problems that might affect you and your baby later, like diabetes or high blood pressure
  • Increasing the amount of folic acid you get to prevent neural tube defects
  • Getting up to date on vaccines
  • Avoiding smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking drugs
  • Trying to reach a healthy weight

By taking action on health issues before pregnancy, you can prevent many future problems for yourself and your baby. Once you're pregnant, you'll get prenatal care until your baby is born.

It sits within Women, Pregnancy and Reproduction and Men.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Preconception Care

25 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Diagnosis and Tests

Prevention and Risk Factors

Related Issues

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Preconception Care. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Preconception Care, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.