Questions to Ask an OBGYN Before Getting Pregnant
These are questions to ask your doctor when trying to get pregnant, or at a preconception appointment before you start, whether you see an OBGYN, a family doctor or a midwife. The 53 questions follow the order such a visit tends to take: your history, medicines and existing conditions, tests and vaccines, daily life, the months of trying themselves, then how the practice looks after you once a test is positive and what it all costs. If you conceive with donor sperm or without a partner, skip the partner questions and start from the one on donor sperm in the last group.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Your history
What does a preconception visit cover, and how much time do we have today?
Why ask it
Ask at the start so you can order your list. Some practices book this as a short well visit and some as a full consultation, and knowing which one you are in tells you whether to raise five topics or twenty-five.
Looking at my history, is there anything you would want addressed before we start trying?
Why ask it
An open question lets the clinician lead with what stood out in your chart before you work through your own list. What they name first is often what they would deal with first, so write it down before moving on.
Does anything in my family history, or my partner's, change what you would recommend?
Why ask it
Check with relatives before the visit, because pregnancy losses, stillbirths and inherited conditions often go unmentioned until someone asks directly. Clotting disorders, diabetes and early heart disease on either side are worth naming too, even when they seem to have nothing to do with pregnancy.
Does my age change anything you would advise or test for?
Why ask it
Worth putting plainly at whichever end of the range you are. A useful reply turns age into something practical: a test offered sooner, a shorter wait before review, or a straight statement that nothing changes yet.
If I conceived, would you expect to treat the pregnancy as higher risk, and what would that change?
Why ask it
The label matters less than its consequences, so ask for those: extra appointments, a specialist alongside this practice, a particular hospital. Hearing it before conception gives you time to check what that care would involve where you live.
Given what happened in my last pregnancy, what would be different this time?
Why ask it
Name what happened in the clinician's terms if you know them: preterm birth, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, a caesarean. Each can change what monitoring is offered next time, and if that care was at another hospital, the records are worth requesting before this visit.
After an earlier loss, would you look into anything before we try again, and is there a reason to wait?
Why ask it
Say how many losses there were and roughly how far along each was, because the answer tends to turn on both. Advice on waiting differs between clinicians and countries, so ask what theirs rests on: your physical recovery, a test result, or simply how ready you feel.
Could any past surgery, infection or abnormal cervical result affect conceiving or carrying a pregnancy?
Why ask it
List every operation on or near your abdomen and pelvis, including ones from childhood and any treatment to the cervix. Most turn out to have no bearing at all, but the ones that do are easier to plan around when the clinician hears about them now and not from an old discharge letter.
My periods are irregular, very painful or heavy. Should that be looked into before we start trying?
Why ask it
Give details: the shortest and longest gap between periods, days off work or school, how often you change protection on the heaviest day. Specifics like these decide whether the answer is to wait and see or to arrange a scan or bloodwork first.
Medicines and conditions
Which of my medications and supplements should change, and how far in advance?
Why ask it
Include over the counter products, herbal supplements and anything another doctor prescribes. A medicine may be swapped for a different one instead of stopped, and when to make that swap is for the prescriber to decide with you, not something to arrange alone.
Which of my existing conditions should be more stable first, and what number are we aiming for?
Why ask it
Ask for the target as a figure and write it down. A condition described as well controlled in conversation is often defined by a specific reading in the guidance the clinician is working from, and you cannot track progress against an adjective.
If another doctor prescribes one of these medicines, who makes the change: you or them?
Why ask it
Shared prescriptions are where plans stall, with each clinician assuming the other will act. Leave knowing who writes the new prescription, who you tell when you start trying, and whether the two of them will speak or you carry the message.
I take medication for my mental health. What is the plan for it while we try and after a positive test?
Why ask it
Raise it even if you have been stable for years, and do not stop anything on your own beforehand. What you want to hear is a plan with a named person reviewing it, covering the months of trying as well as pregnancy, since those can last far longer than expected.
Which everyday medicines for pain, allergies, colds or sleep are fine while I am trying, and which would you avoid?
Why ask it
These are the ones bought without thinking in the second half of a cycle. Ask for a short written list of what this practice is comfortable with, so the decision at the pharmacy shelf is already made.
Could anything my partner takes, prescribed or not, affect our chances?
Why ask it
Their list belongs on the table next to yours, gym supplements and hormone treatments included. A partner's prescriber may never have been told that conception is the plan, and this visit can be the first time anyone raises it.
Is there dental work, imaging or any other treatment I should get done before we start?
Why ask it
Anything involving X-rays, sedation or a course of medicine is simpler to schedule when there is no chance you are pregnant. Mention what you have been putting off, and ask whether to finish it first or whether it makes no difference.
Tests and vaccines
Which vaccinations should be up to date before I conceive, and is there a waiting period after any of them?
Why ask it
Some vaccines are given before pregnancy and not during it, and a few come with a recommended interval before trying. Schedules differ by country, so take whatever record you have and find out whether any immunity should be confirmed with a blood test instead of assumed.
What bloodwork or screening would you do now, and how long do results take?
Why ask it
Turnaround matters if you were hoping to start next cycle. The sharper half of the question is which results could change the plan and which only add to the file, because that tells you what is worth waiting for.
Is my cervical screening up to date, and would you rather do it now than during a pregnancy?
Why ask it
Screening intervals and the name of the test differ by country, so ask when yours is next due under the local programme. If it falls within the coming year, doing it today may save an awkward decision later about whether to defer it.
Should either of us be tested for infections that can be carried without symptoms?
Why ask it
Many practices offer this as routine before pregnancy and nobody reads anything into a yes. The practical parts are which infections are on their panel, whether your partner is tested here or by their own doctor, and how any treatment would affect when you start trying.
Is my blood group on file, and is there any reason to check it before I am pregnant?
Why ask it
Blood group and rhesus type come up early in prenatal care, and some people already have them recorded from a donation or an operation. If yours is unknown, ask whether it gets added to today's blood draw or left until a first prenatal visit.
Should either of us have carrier screening, and what would we do with a positive result?
Why ask it
The second half is the harder half, and it is easier to think about before a result exists. What is offered depends on where you live and on your family history, and one partner's result often means little until the other has been tested, so check how long that second step takes.
Is there any point testing my fertility before we have tried at all?
Why ask it
Hormone and egg reserve tests are sold directly to people who have not started trying yet. The useful thing to hear is what a result could and could not tell you at this stage, and whether any number would change the advice you are getting today.
Which of today's results would you want to go through with me in person?
Why ask it
Results often land on a patient portal with a reference range and no comment. Agree now which ones deserve a conversation, and by what date you should have heard, so a figure flagged in red on a Friday evening is not left for you to interpret alone.
Daily life
Which prenatal vitamin or folic acid dose do you want me taking, and from when?
Why ask it
Folic acid is usually started before conception and not after a positive test, and the dose advised is not the same for everyone. Hand over the label of whatever you already take so the amounts can be checked against what this clinician wants.
Is there anything in the way I eat that you would change now?
Why ask it
Describe a normal week honestly, including a restricted or vegetarian diet, fasting, and anything you cut out on someone else's advice. Find out too whether the food cautions given in pregnancy apply while trying, or only from a positive test.
Is my weight, or how much I exercise, something you would want changed before we try?
Why ask it
Letting the clinician say what they would want, if anything, beats guessing at a number. Mention rapid recent loss or gain and very heavy training as well; either can matter in ways people do not expect, and both are easier to discuss when you are the one who brings them up.
What are the current recommendations on alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and cannabis while trying?
Why ask it
Guidance is written country by country, and what friends pass on is often an older version of it. Give real amounts, be clear that you mean the months of trying and not pregnancy itself, and get the reasoning so you can apply it to a situation the leaflet did not cover.
Are there exposures at my work or home worth avoiding now?
Why ask it
Say what you actually do all day. Solvents, anaesthetic gases, radiation, lead, pesticides, heavy lifting, and night shifts all come up, and none of them will be raised unless the clinician knows the job.
We have a trip planned. Would any destination or travel vaccine mean waiting before we try?
Why ask it
Give the places and the dates. Some regions carry infection risks that come with a recommended wait afterwards, which can apply to a partner who travels alone, and official advice changes, so ask where the practice checks the current version.
What would you want my partner to change in their own habits?
Why ask it
Request it in order of importance, because a long list of equal items gets ignored. Smoking, drinking and heat are the usual subjects, and a partner tends to take the advice more seriously when it is addressed to them in the room.
How careful should I be in the two weeks before a test, when I might be pregnant and not know it?
Why ask it
This stretch comes round every cycle and it is where the daily uncertainty lives: a drink at a wedding, a painkiller, a dental X-ray. A plain rule from your own clinician, written down once, saves the same worried search each month.
While trying
I have been using birth control: what should I expect after stopping, and does the method change the timing?
Why ask it
How quickly cycles return can depend on the method, so name yours and how long you have used it. Two answers are worth leaving with: what an ordinary adjustment period looks like for that method, and what they would want reported, such as no period after a set number of weeks.
Do I need an appointment to have my IUD or implant removed, and how soon afterwards can we try?
Why ask it
Removal is something the practice schedules, and the wait for a slot can be longer than people plan for. Check whether it can be done at this visit, and whether they suggest waiting for a first period afterwards or have no preference.
What should I be recording about my cycles, and what would you want to see?
Why ask it
An app will happily collect a dozen things a clinician never looks at. Start dates and cycle length are the usual basics, and a few months of those in hand lets a later appointment get somewhere quickly.
How do I work out which days of my cycle I am most likely to conceive?
Why ask it
Have them do the sum with your own cycle length, not a 28-day example. If your cycles vary by more than a few days, ask how to adjust, since an app's prediction is only an average of the months you have fed it.
Are ovulation test strips or temperature charting worth using, or would you start without them?
Why ask it
Opinions differ, and some clinicians prefer couples to begin with no equipment at all. If they do recommend a method, ask how to read a confusing result and at what point several months of unclear ones would be worth a visit.
Realistically, how long does it take most people in my situation to conceive?
Why ask it
Have the answer framed for your own age and history, not as a general average. People mostly hear about the pregnancies that happened in a month or two, and a clinician's sense of the ordinary range is what stops month four from feeling like a verdict.
How long would you expect us to try before I come back?
Why ask it
The interval before further evaluation is not the same for everyone and can depend on age and history. Getting the number now means you are not deciding in six months whether you are being impatient.
We have already been trying for some months. Is there anything you would check or change at this point?
Why ask it
Tell them the real number of months and how you have been timing things, even if it feels like too little to mention. The reply shows whether you are still inside what this clinician considers the ordinary range or close to the point where they would start looking.
Does my partner need to be seen as well, and by whom?
Why ask it
Preconception visits tend to centre on the person who will carry the pregnancy, and the other half of the picture can go unexamined. Sort out whether a partner's check would happen here or with their own doctor, and what history from their side to bring next time.
What do people most often get wrong when they first start trying?
Why ask it
A clinician who sees this every week knows which mistakes come up in their own patients, whether about timing, apps or how long it ordinarily takes. It is advice drawn from that room, and it sometimes corrects something you were sure of.
When should I take a pregnancy test, and how far do you trust an early result?
Why ask it
Home tests advertise results days before a missed period, and a faint or changing line causes a great deal of worry. Settle on a day to test, find out whether this practice confirms with a blood test, and get their advice on a positive that is followed by bleeding.
If we have difficulty conceiving, what happens next in your practice?
Why ask it
Find out what evaluation is done in house, what gets referred out, and whether the referral is to a named clinic. Knowing the pathway removes a month of uncertainty at the point you would least like to spend it.
Care and costs
At what point would you want to see me once I have a positive test?
Why ask it
Practices differ on when the first visit happens and on what would bring it forward. Check how the booking works too: some take the call the day you test, and some only schedule once you reach a certain week.
If a test is positive while I am still on a medicine we planned to change, what do I do that day?
Why ask it
Get the instruction for each medicine in advance: carry on, stop, or phone before the next dose. Plans made at this visit assume a tidy sequence, and a pregnancy that arrives sooner than expected should not leave you guessing over a weekend.
Who would I actually see through a pregnancy, and who covers when you are away?
Why ask it
The person you meet at a preconception visit may not be the one on the floor at the birth. Get the shape of the practice: solo or group, doctors or midwives, how the rota works, and which hospital or unit you would deliver in.
If I would need a specialist during pregnancy, can I meet them before I conceive?
Why ask it
For some conditions a consultation with a high-risk pregnancy doctor before conception is possible, and it is a calmer conversation than the same one at eight weeks. Ask whether a referral makes sense for you and how long the wait for that clinic runs.
We are using donor sperm. What can you do here, and what would go through a fertility clinic?
Why ask it
Say so early, because it changes which of these questions apply and who does the testing. Rules on donor conception, and whether treatment is publicly funded or insured, differ by country and state, so find out how it works where you are and whether this practice can start the referral.
What will today's visit and tests cost me, and is a preconception appointment covered?
Why ask it
Coverage depends on the country, the insurer and sometimes on how the visit is coded, so ask how it works where you are. Carrier screening and partner testing are the items most worth pricing before the sample is taken, because the bill can arrive from an outside lab.
Should I book a follow-up before we start, or only come back if something changes?
Why ask it
A clear answer names the trigger: a result, a medicine switch that needs checking, a date. If there is no planned return, confirm that everything discussed today is in your record, since the next person you see may be someone else.
If the months of trying start to wear on me or on us, who would you point us to?
Why ask it
Few people raise this at the outset, when it feels premature. Knowing there is a counsellor, a support group or simply an open door at this practice makes it easier to speak up in month seven than to start that search from nothing.
While we are trying, what would you want me to call about straight away instead of waiting for an appointment?
Why ask it
A clear threshold is a good thing to end the visit on. Get the after-hours number and how messages are handled, and write the answer beside the number so you are not relying on memory at two in the morning.
Preparing for a preconception visit
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
What to bring
- 1Every medication and supplement, in the bottle, including anything taken occasionally and anything prescribed by another clinician.
- 2The dates your last several cycles started, and their length. It is the one thing on this list that cannot be looked up in your record afterwards.
- 3Family history from both sides: pregnancy losses, stillbirths, inherited conditions, clotting disorders, diabetes, and early heart disease.
- 4Records from any previous pregnancy, birth, or surgery handled by another practice, requested in advance because they take time to arrive.
- 5Your immunisation record if you have one, and a note of anything you know you have had.
- 6A written list of your questions with the two you care about most at the top.
During the visit
- Where an answer comes as an adjective, such as soon, well controlled or a while, ask for the number behind it and write that down while you are still in the room.
- If something is recommended, ask what the next step is and who arranges it, since referrals and lab orders often stall on that point.
- Take a partner or a friend if you can. Two people remember an appointment better than one.
- Say if you are unsure about trying at all. A preconception visit is also the place to ask about the timing and the options, not only about preparation.
- Before you leave, ask what happens next and when, and how results will reach you.
If you are already trying to get pregnant
- Bring the number of months you have been trying and the start dates of your recent cycles. Those two facts shape most of what a doctor says next.
- Say what you have already changed on your own, such as a vitamin started, a medicine stopped or a tracking app in use, so the advice begins from where you actually are.
- Open with the group headed While trying, then go back to medicines and tests. Those still apply, and reviewing them is often what a visit at this stage turns into.
- Leave with a date. If nothing has happened by then you come back, and nobody has to wonder whether it is too soon to ask.
If the visit felt rushed
- Ask whether the remaining questions are better handled at a follow-up appointment or through the patient portal, and which one the practice prefers.
- Request the after-visit summary in writing so you can check what was actually recommended against what you remember.
- A second opinion is a normal thing to want, particularly where there is a history of loss or a chronic condition. How you arrange one depends on your health system or insurer, so ask the practice how it works there.
- Nothing here is a substitute for the conversation itself. These are questions to bring to the appointment, and the answers depend on your own history.