Vaccinations and screening
If you are planning a pregnancy, make sure that you are up-to-date with vaccinations such as rubella (German measles) and varicllea (chickenpox).
Vaccinations
All women who wish to become pregnant should be vaccinated against the rubella virus. You may have already been vaccinated against rubella when you were younger, but your GP may want to carry out a test to check your immunity.
If you are not immune, you may have to wait up to a month after being vaccinated before trying to conceive.
If you have never had chickenpox or shingles, you may need to be vaccinated against the varicella the virus before you can become pregnant.
However, it is unlikely that you will need vaccinating unless there is a risk of you coming into contact with carriers of the virus, such as healthcare workers.
If you do need to be vaccinated, you may have to wait up to six weeks after the vaccine before trying to conceive.
Similarly, women who are likely to contract hepatitis B may need to be vaccinated against the condition before they can conceive. You may need a hepatitis B vaccination if:
- You are a healthcare worker.
- You have a chronic (long-term) condition, such as kidney or liver disease.
- You come into close contact with someone who has hepatitis B.
- You have many different sexual partners.
- You use intravenous drugs (injected into a vein).
Cervical screening
If you are planning a pregnancy and you are due to have a cervical screening test, you will need to have it before you conceive. This is because pregnancy can make the results of a cervical screening test difficult to interpret.
See the Health A-Z Cervical screening test to find out more.
