You make a lot of plans when you get pregnant. You choose nursery colors and baby names, expand your home or alter rooms. But you also need to plan before you conceive.

More doctors now suggest a pre-conception checkup and pre-conception counseling before getting serious about having a baby. Many problems that can affect a pregnancy can be avoided if addressed and dealt with before becoming pregnant.

“The reason for the precautions is that the development of the fetus, at least from an organ development point of view, is the function of the first eight weeks of pregnancy,” says F. Sessions Cole, M.D., a pediatric specialist in St. Louis. “The idea behind a pre-conception checklist is to be sure that when conception occurs, there is an optimal environment to promote and support the normal development of all the fetus’s organs.”

» Read more: Making Plans to Become Pregnant