The health and vitality of a woman is central to the wellbeing of a pregnancy. Some of the issues that a woman may wish to address prior to planning a pregnancy include:

• Fatigue, which is a common problem encountered during pregnancy. A woman may consider how this might impact on her professional and personal life.
• Current health issues and medications. Optimising your medical management or altering your medication may be advisable prior to and during a pregnancy.
• Reduced immunity to viral and other illnesses. Vaccinations may be required.
• Family history of an inherited condition. Concerns can be addressed with genetic counselling in the form of information, support and genetic testing.
• Increasing age, particularly being over the age of 35 years is associated with a greater chance for pregnancy complication.
• Outcomes or complications in a previous pregnancy.
• Delays in falling pregnant and fertility management.
• Family planning.

Considering these issues prior to pregnancy is part of a critical path to achieve satisfactory pregnancy outcomes. Ideally, it may be useful to look into these issues six months or more before a pregnancy.