Now many people may know about eating healthy, exercising, according to your doctor’s orders and eliminating the alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine, while pregnant. But nothing is wrong with taking it one step further, if at all possible, and including genetic counseling for mom and dad. And yes, this will include dad, because he participated in the beginning of the pregnancy, so why not involve him during the pregnancy, as well? Genetic counseling is also even better during the time of preconception, when a woman is not pregnant but there’s a possibility of pregnancy happening at some point in the future.

A counselor can help a couple find out what their child may have an increased risk of inheriting, because of mom and dad’s health history. A family history of diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and Sickle Cell Anemia, which is more common in black Americans, is something that would be discussed during the session. But I’ll defer to the experts to convince you on this one.