Pregnancy medical history: Information Your Care Team Needs

Your pregnancy medical history helps your care team understand what support, tests, or specialist advice you might need. You do not need perfect records before contacting maternity services. Bring what you know, and identify anything that needs checking.

Start with your own health

Write down ongoing conditions, previous operations, allergies, and the names of services involved in your care. Include mental health treatment and conditions that are currently well controlled. Good control is useful information, not a reason to leave a condition off the list.

Make a separate list of prescribed medicines, medicines you buy yourself, vitamins, and herbal products. Include the dose if you know it, or bring photographs of the packaging. If you take regular prescribed medicines, contact your doctor as soon as you know you are pregnant for a review. Do not wait for a routine booking visit or stop treatment without medical advice.

Describe previous pregnancies in your own words

Include previous births, pregnancy losses, ectopic pregnancies, and any complications you remember. If an experience was distressing, you can say that you need time, privacy, or a particular approach to examinations. Our guide to pregnancy after a previous complication can help you organize questions.

Write “unsure” beside details you cannot remember. Your team can explain which records would be useful and how to request them. You are not expected to interpret old test results yourself.

Make room for sensitive information

Housing, work, practical support, smoking, alcohol, and safety at home can affect care. Ask to speak without a partner or relative present if you would prefer privacy. Request an interpreter when needed rather than struggling through important decisions.

Mention inherited conditions in either biological parent’s family if known. Having incomplete family information does not prevent you from receiving care.

Leave with a clear next step

At your first prenatal appointment, ask which information changes the plan and who will obtain missing records. Keep a copy of your medicine list and update it when anything changes. The aim is a useful starting point for care, not a flawless personal medical archive.