There’s no time like now to start preparing your body, spiritually, emotionally, and physically for pregnancy. Whether this is your first time or you’re just hoping to conceive your second baby, there’s a lot that your partner can do right now to increase your odds of giving birth to a healthy baby.

Am I supposed to schedule a checkup with my doctor before trying to conceive or visit when I’m already pregnant? Decades ago, you would not even be thinking of visiting your doctor (and you will be branded as insane or crazy) if you went to the doctor for a checkup before you were pregnant. However, today it’s becoming one of the norms that most new and old mothers do. The reason is that the most critical period in the development of your baby occurs before you even know you’re pregnant. If your body is unhealthy and unstable at the moment then maybe it’s not a good time for the baby to live inside of you.

Here’s a list of things that you may need to know from your doctor for your pre-pregnancy check up list.

Are your immunizations up to date? Have you taken all the necessary shots to insure that you’re immune to chicken pox?

- Do you have any pre-existing healthy conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure? They have an impact on your pregnancy so ask about things that you can do to address them.

- Ask about your gynecological history. Your history may put you at risk for experiencing fertility or pregnancy complications.

- Ask about the drugs that you’re currently using. Chances are a bulk of them you will not be able to use any more while you’re pregnant. Some drugs even have to be stopped for a while and substituted for optimal ones to ensure fertility and a better living environment for your child.

These are just some of the things you should know before trying to conceive or trying to have a baby. Try to know as much as you can before trying to conceive a baby to increase your chances of having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy boy or girl. I discuss much more on this subject in my book you can find by going to: Pregnancy Week-By-Week

Are you Pregnant? Did you miss your period? Are you nauseated or fatigued? What about your breasts, are they extra tender or sore? Well if you really couldn’t tell then maybe it’s the time to consider buying a home pregnancy test.

No matter which brand you buy, the tests can shake your nerves up like a leaf. Well to settle your soul a little bit it’s good to find out a little something about those little devices, what can affect the results, and when you should visit the doctor.

How do the Tests Detect Pregnancy?

Your body will begin to produce human chorionic gonadotropin (HGC) when the fertilized egg attaches to your walls of your uterus. The tests, which are available anywhere and at most times over-the-counter, are able to detect this particular hormone in urinary tests. In the doctor’s office you can have your blood tested to do more advanced work on detecting HGC.

What are the Different Types of Pregnancy Tests?

There are also several types of pregnancy tests but all work in a likely fashion and all of course end up telling you whether you’re pregnant or not. Usually, you will have to place the end of a dipstick in urine or immerse the whole thing in a container of adequate urine sample for around 10 seconds. After a minute or two, you will see a minus or plus sign, color change or the word “pregnant” or “not pregnant” on a window on the dipstick, or a line. That’s state of the art technology right there!

For some tests though, you will have to mix a relatively adequate (usually just small) amount of urine with a special liquid or powder test. The test indicates positive pregnancy when the color of the urine changes.

Reading instructions on the packaging or in manuals will be a great help, as misguided actions more often than not tip the results to the other side of the spectrum. The contact information on the packaging was put there so you can give them a call in case you were confused as to what to do.