Preconception
Are you ready to start trying for a baby? It’s important to prepare your body for pregnancy even before conception.
Here, we provide some useful facts, tips and articles, as well as information about the services we offer for this very important first step of your journey to motherhood.
For more information about women's healthcare in a Catholic hospital, please view our brochure.
Talk to your GP
If you have an existing medical condition that may have an impact on your pregnancy, you should discuss this with your GP. These conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, anaemia, cystic fibrosis and heart, liver or kidney disease.
A healthy start
Taking folate reduces the chance of neural tube defects (e.g. spina bifida) in your baby. It is recommended that women trying to conceive take an extra 400 μg/day of folic acid. Learn more about healthy eating during pregnancy.
Check your immunity
Talk to your doctor about whether you are immune to rubella and consider having the pertussis whooping cough and chicken pox vaccinations. These illnesses can cause serious problems for both your unborn or newborn baby.
Check your level of private maternity cover with your private health insurer
Have you thought about whether you’ll be having your baby with private maternity care? If so it’s a good idea to review your level of private health insurance policy to check if you have maternity and obstetric cover, and for waiting periods. Most private healthcare insurances will have a 12 month waiting period for maternity and obstetric care.
Natural fertility services
Understanding your finances as a private patient
Nourishing nutrition in pregnancy
The facts on nutrients important for pregnancy
What's next?
We have outlined some general healthy lifestyle information above. You might also choose to review your nutritional needs or get some advice about tailoring information to your lifestyle and preferences during an appointment with a specialist women’s health dietitian at Mater Health and Wellness. Topics we can discuss with you include:
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Back to basics—Reviewing food groups, nutrients and nourishment, scheduling time for me, and balancing nutrition needs with a busy lifestyle.
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Mastering mindful eating—Learn to turn off autopilot and how to taste and enjoy food with all your senses. Start to become in control of foods that would normally control you.
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Realising weight loss is within reach—Understanding and achieving the very clear benefits that result from an achievable weight loss (if required). The good news from research is that a loss of just five to ten percent of your body weight (if above a healthy weight), whatever weight you are now, has significant effects on fertility.