Pre-Pregnancy Planning

For some women, a pre-pregnancy consultation may be important for a number of reasons:

Chronic Medical Conditions

If you have any medical problems which may impact on your pregnancy, it is a good idea to speak to your GP and arrange an appointment to see Dr Ken Law before your pregnancy.  Some of these problems include:

• Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
• Obesity
• Hypothyroidism or Hyperthyroidism
• Cardiovascular Disorders, including structural heart anomalies
• Chronic Hypertension, Essential Hypertension
• Severe Asthma
• Haematological Disorders, including bleeding tendencies (e.g. von Willebrand’s Disease) or clotting disorders (e.g. Factor V Leiden mutation, previous DVT or pulmonary embolism)

This will allow your doctors the opportunity to optimise the management of your medical disorders, so as to achieve the best possible outcome for your pregnancy.

Previous Pregnancy Complications

If previous pregnancies have been complicated by significant complications, a pre-pregnancy consultation may be useful.  This may include situations such as:

• Recurrent Miscarriages
• Mid-Trimester Loss or Stillbirth
• Severe Pre-eclampsia or Eclampsia
• Genetic Disorders or Chromosomal Abnormalities

Prevention and Screening

A pre-pregnancy consultation is also the perfect opportunity to ensure that your immunisations are up-to-date.  Important immunisations to consider include Rubella (“German measles”), Varicella (“chicken pox”), Pertussis (“Whooping cough”) and Influenza (“the flu”).  Dr Law will also ensure that your Pap smears are up-to-date, and make sure you are on the correct dosage of folate supplementation prior to conception.