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Preconception Care
The months before pregnancy are a valuable time to support your fertility and overall health. Preconception care looks at the factors that can influence your pregnancy journey, including egg quality, nutrient stores, thyroid function, cycle health, blood sugar balance, and ovulation. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s making sure your body has the support it needs before conception.
Preconception care: planning a pregnancy this year?
Eggs develop over several months before ovulation, which is why the preconception window matters. The environment your body creates now can influence the health and readiness of the eggs released in the months ahead. Supporting nutrition, identifying deficiencies, and addressing health concerns early can help you enter pregnancy feeling more prepared.
Preconception care is about being proactive, not waiting for a problem to appear. It can be helpful whether you’re planning your first pregnancy, preparing after a previous challenge, or simply wanting to understand your fertility better. Assessment may uncover areas like low iron, thyroid changes, nutrient gaps, or irregular cycles that are worth addressing before trying to conceive.
Preconception care may be right for you if you:
- Plan to start trying within the next year
- Want your nutrient stores and labs optimized first
- Have irregular cycles or aren't sure you're ovulating
- Have a condition like PCOS, thyroid disease or endometriosis
- Are coming off hormonal contraception
- Have experienced miscarriage
- Are 35 or older and want to be proactive
- Want guidance beyond "take folic acid"
What does preconception care cover?
Nutrient Foundations
Folic acid or folate, iron, B12, vitamin D, iodine, choline and omega-3s each play documented roles in fertility and early fetal development. Health Canada recommends folic acid begin at least three months before conception, and early pregnancy draws on stores you build now.
Cycle and Ovulation Health
Conception requires ovulation, and cycles can look regular without confirming it. We teach you to read your cycle's signals and address irregularities before they become a source of stress.
Thyroid Function
Thyroid hormone requirements rise in pregnancy, and even mild dysfunction is linked to conception difficulty and pregnancy complications. Testing beforehand allows correction on the easiest possible timeline.
Blood Sugar and Metabolic Health
Insulin resistance affects ovulation and egg environment, and raises gestational diabetes risk. The months before conception are the ideal time to steady it.
Coming Off Contraception
Cycles typically resume readily after stopping hormonal contraception, but the transition is a natural checkpoint for assessing what your natural cycle looks like.
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What testing is worth doing before conceiving?
We review your health history, cycles, nutrition, medications and family history, then test what matters: ferritin, B12, vitamin D, a complete thyroid panel, blood sugar markers and cycle-timed hormones where ovulation is in question. Partners can be included; sperm health responds to the same three-month window.
The result is a clear picture of your starting point and a prioritized plan, rather than a generic checklist.
What does a preconception plan include?
A prenatal supplement protocol matched to your labs rather than a default brand, nutrition that supports egg quality and steady blood sugar, correction of any deficiencies or thyroid findings, cycle literacy so timing works with your body, and sensible sequencing if you're coming off contraception. Where findings suggest fertility care will be needed, we say so early and refer without delay.
Think of it as arriving at pregnancy with the groundwork already done.
How Somewhere Health helps
Care starts with the bigger picture rather than a single test. If you've already been diagnosed, we build on what you know. If you suspect something deeper but have never had a full workup, we can order the testing that gets you clear answers.
Your first visit is 75 minutes with a licensed naturopathic doctor who has reviewed your full intake. Together you'll create a plan that may include nutrition and lifestyle changes, targeted supplementation, and functional testing where appropriate. Bloodwork happens at any LifeLabs or Dynacare, and specialty panels like the DUTCH test ship to your door.
Appointments are completely virtual, so you can access care from anywhere in Ontario, and visits are covered by most extended health benefits plans.
Our Approach
- Nutrition and dietary guidance
- Lifestyle recommendations
- Stress and sleep support
- Targeted supplementation
- Functional or laboratory testing when appropriate
- Ongoing monitoring and treatment adjustments
- Collaborative care with your broader healthcare team when needed
How it Works
Dr. Courtney Ranieri is a licensed naturopathic doctor with Therapeutic Prescribing authorization, in practice since 2018. She holds a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and an Honours BSc from Western University, and her clinical focus is women's health: hormones, fertility, digestion, pelvic floor and metabolic care. She sees patients across Ontario virtually.
