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Preconception Counseling
Preconception Counseling in Los Angeles
The most useful pregnancy appointment often happens before the pregnancy. Medications get reviewed, conditions get optimised, and questions get answered while there is still time to act on the answers. It is one visit, and it changes what the first trimester looks like.
Medically reviewed by Dr. David Kim, MD, PhD, FACOG — board-certified OB-GYN, 15 years OB/GYN residency faculty at Cedars-Sinai, over 7,000 deliveries · Last reviewed
Explained
What a preconception visit covers.
One appointment, before anything is urgent.
Medications and existing conditions
This is the part that is hardest to do well once you are already pregnant.
Some medications are continued in pregnancy, some are switched, and some are stopped. Making those decisions in advance means there is no stretch where a condition is untreated because a prescription was stopped abruptly on the day of a positive test.
The same applies to conditions that are better controlled before conception than during. Where another specialist is involved, that coordination is easier to arrange now than later.
What else gets reviewed
A preconception visit is a history taken with a specific question in mind.
- Your cycles, and whether anything about them needs evaluating first.
- Previous pregnancies, deliveries and losses, and what they mean for the next one.
- Vaccination status, and anything better done before rather than during.
- Family history on both sides, and whether carrier screening is worth discussing.
Timing, and honest expectations
How long it reasonably takes is one of the most common questions, and one of the least often answered directly.
Age is part of that conversation without being the whole of it. If you are over thirty-five, what that does and does not mean is worth understanding before you are pregnant rather than after. See pregnancy after 35.
If cycles are irregular, or if there is a history that suggests evaluation is warranted, that is better started now. See fertility & PCOS.
After a previous loss or cesarean
Both change what the next pregnancy needs, and both are better discussed before it starts.
After more than one loss, evaluation is offered rather than waited for. See recurrent pregnancy loss.
After a cesarean, whether a vaginal birth is available next time depends on specifics from the operative record. Getting that record now is easier than getting it at thirty-six weeks.
Questions
What patients ask first.
How far in advance should I come in?
Far enough that anything found has time to be acted on. A few months before you plan to start is usually sensible; sooner if there are medications or conditions in the picture.
Do I need this if I am healthy?
It is optional. It is most useful when there is a medication, a condition, a previous pregnancy history, or a question about timing — and many people have at least one of those without thinking of it that way.
What should I bring?
A current medication list including anything over the counter, records from previous pregnancies or deliveries if you have them, and what you already know of your family history.
Should my partner come?
It is often useful, particularly for the family history part of the conversation.
I am over 35 and thinking about starting. Is that a reason to come in?
It is a reasonable one. What thirty-five actually means is worth understanding in advance. See pregnancy after 35.
Where can I get preconception counseling in Los Angeles?
Yunella Women's Health is on San Vicente Boulevard in central Los Angeles, convenient to Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Beverly Grove and the Miracle Mile.
General information about care at Yunella, not medical advice. What applies to you depends on your own history and examination.
Start here
One visit, while there is still time to act on the answers.
It is the appointment people most often wish they had made earlier.
Or call (424) 404-8832 · 6330 San Vicente Blvd, Suite 418, Los Angeles, CA 90048 · delivery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center