Your family and medical history can affect your chances of conceiving a baby, having a healthy pregnancy, and the health of your child. Finding out this information and sharing it with your health care provider can help to make sure that any concerns are talked about before pregnancy.
Some medical conditions can make it harder to conceive a baby or to stay pregnant.
If more than one person in your family has a certain medical condition, it could mean you’re at higher risk of developing that condition.
Talk with your health care provider about your medical history. Knowing if you might be at risk can help your health care provider connect you with the right services.
Learn more about Genetic Risk
Some conditions affect the menstrual cycle and the ability to release an egg (ovulate). Some conditions increase the risk of miscarriage.
Certain medical conditions could affect sperm and may reduce the chance of conceiving a baby.
The following types of injuries could affect the ability to conceive a baby:
Talk with your health care provider if you have concerns about a past injury.
Some medical conditions should be discussed with your health care provider.
Talk with your health care provider if:
Your mental health could also affect your overall health. Talk with your health care provider if:
Speak with your health care provider if you have chronic health issues such as:
Also speak with your health care provider if:
If any of these apply to you, talk with your health care provider about:
You can follow your health history and access personal health records through a provincial online system.
MyHealth Records is an online tool that allows you to access your personal health records that have information about the following:
You can sign up for a secure digital ID that will allow you to:
For information and instructions to sign up, see the Government of Alberta’s MyHealth Records page. There is also a support line available at 1-844-401-4016 to help you signup and use the system.
Connect Care is an Alberta Health Services province-wide program that allows health records to be stored in a single location. This provides a more complete picture of your health history. MyAHS Connect is a tool that will help all people in Alberta view health information from Alberta Health Services and partner care teams. Connect Care will be introduced in phases throughout Alberta between 2020 and 2024. For more information about MyAHS Connect, see the Alberta Health Services Connect Care Patients & Families page.
Ask your family about any health conditions that parents, grandparents, parents’ siblings, cousins, or siblings may have had.
Ask about chronic disease (such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or high blood pressure), inherited conditions, and mental health concerns.
If you’re not in contact with your family, you can check out genealogy sites for information about the generations before you. This might give you birth and death information that could help you get more information about the health of your relatives. Some genealogy sites also include genetic testing services. If you choose to have genetic testing, consider using a company that offers genetic counselling to help interpret results.
If you were adopted, start with your adoptive parents. They may have some information about your birth family.
If the adoption was in Alberta, you can contact the Government of Alberta Records, Registry and Connections for the forms you need to access information about your adoption.
Ready or Not contains a lot of information. So we created My To-Do List for you to use as a personal reminder, share with your partner, or bring to your next check-up.
Be sure to click “Add this to my To-Do List” anytime you see something you want to print, email, save, or share. Because we do not ask for any personal information, your list will only be saved for a week after your last added item.
