Results

Kudos to you for taking this first step in your baby-making journey.Your quiz results suggest that you likely need to take a bit more time to prepare yourself before you’re optimally ready to conceive.

This result was derived from an assessment of your answers to questions across all 5 categories of pre-pregnancy wellness. We weighted each variable based on estimated impact and created a unique scoring rubric for you. This quiz was meant to give you a quick overview of areas that might have room for improvement. If you’d like to dive deeper, you can select one of the following options.

If you’d like to dig into the individual questions from the quiz, please visit the quiz explanation (see below).

Next Steps

Schedule a complimentary call

Are you interested in discussing your quiz results? Schedule a complimentary call with a Poplin pre-pregnancy educator to discuss what steps you can take to optimize your pre-pregnancy wellness.

This is not your run-of-the-mill call. It’s targeted to exactly what lifestyle factors are most relevant for you, based on your quiz results. Most people find this to be an incredibly helpful jumping off point to get started on their pre-pregnancy journey!

Complete the Pre-pregnancy Wellness Report Card

Are you looking for a more in-depth qualitative analysis of your pre-pregnancy wellness? Then the Poplin Pre-pregnancy Wellness Report Card is for you!

Once you complete the series of forms, you'll be provided with a comprehensive report that summarizes any areas of concern. You can take this report to your doctor to make the most of your preconception visit.

Our assessment reviews key areas of pre-pregnancy wellness including general medical history, women's health history, mental health screenings, nutrition history, social history, and environmental exposures.

Your purchase also includes a 30-minute educational call with one of our pre-pregnancy educators to help you understand any areas that might need attention.

Explore Pre-pregnancy Wellness Testing

The Baby Readiness Quiz helps you understand at a high level where you stand from a lifestyle perspective. Now you can dive deeper with lab testing to learn what’s going on at a cellular level.

The best way to know where to focus your efforts is with comprehensive Poplin Pre-pregnancy Wellness Testing to find out which areas of your health might need a little extra love.

Because our testing is so comprehensive, ~80% of customers have uncovered a chronic condition they were not aware of. Could that be you too?

Quiz Explanation

You may have noticed that we asked about a lot more than just your hormonal health. That’s because health is so much more than just your hormones. We want to measure your whole health. Pre-pregnancy wellness testing will help you deep dive into your blood, immune, hormone, metabolic, and nutrient status.

5 Categories of Pre-pregnancy Wellness

Poplin measures significantly more variables than the average fertility test allowing you to get a more comprehensive view of your fertility and health.

Some symptoms can be non-specific while others can be suggestive of certain conditions. We always recommend you discuss any symptoms you’re having with your health care team. This quiz is not medical advice.

Blood Type & Status

Have you been diagnosed with the following?
 • Anemia
 • Inherited blood disorder

Do you have any of the following symptoms?
 • Fatigue/weakness
 • Headache, dizziness, or lightheadedness
 • Cold hands and feet
 • Pale skin
 • Chest pain, fast heartbeat, or shortness of breath
 • Brittle nails

One of the most common (and easily treatable) things that our team sees with this category is iron-deficiency anemia. In fact, up to 25% of pregnancies experience some form of iron deficiency. Anemia not only affects your energy levels, but it also has implications for the growth and development of your baby. This can be easily screened for and addressed beforehand.

Taking iron supplements and eating iron-rich foods can help to improve iron status. It can take several months to see your iron levels normalize, so it’s ideal to address any deficiencies in advance of trying to conceive.

Immune Status

Have you been diagnosed with the following conditions?
 • Autoimmune disease (e.g. Crohn’s, rheumatoid arthritis, MS, Celiac, etc.)
 • Cancer
 • Sexually transmitted infection(s)
 • Urinary tract or yeast infections

Conditions of the immune system can affect fertility and pregnancy. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, be sure to speak with your healthcare team to investigate further.

Autoimmune conditions are important to screen for because: (a) they are disproportionately present in females, (b) they take a long time to get diagnosed and can wreak all sorts of havoc until then, and (c) they can interfere with your ability to get pregnant, maintain a pregnancy (recurrent miscarriage risk), and have a healthy baby (developmental problems).

It’s also important to have an STI screening as part of your preconception care because an undiagnosed STI can interfere with your ability to get pregnant or have a healthy pregnancy and baby. For example, chlamydia and gonorrhea, two of the most common sexually transmitted infections, can be asymptomatic and can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) if left undiagnosed. PID is strongly associated with ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain.

Furthermore, Hepatitis B and HIV can both be transmitted from mother to child; early screening and treatment can help prevent this transmission and lower risks of complications for both mom and baby.

Do you experience any of the following symptoms?
 • Fatigue
 • Joint pain and swelling
 • Skin problems
 • Abdominal pain or digestive issues
 • Swollen glands
 • Unusual discharge from the vagina; pain when peeing

Symptoms are indicator lights that our body is giving us to suggest that something might be out of balance. If you experience one or more of these symptoms, consider discussing them with your healthcare provider or running lab testing to assess your immune status.

Hormone Status

Have you been diagnosed with or experienced any of the following?
 • Endometriosis or fibroids
 • Hypothyroid/thyroid disorder
 • Miscarriage
 • PCOS

Certain hormone-related conditions can make it challenging to conceive and/or have a healthy pregnancy. If you’ve been diagnosed with any of these , be sure to work closely with your provider to manage your condition prior to becoming pregnant.

Do you experience any of the following period symptoms?
 • Acne
 • Bloating
 • Breast tenderness
 • Brown spotting (prior to or between periods)
 • Cramps
 • Dark red / black clots
 • Low libido or vaginal dryness / lack of lubrication
 • Migraines
 • Hirsutism (growth of dark or coarse hair on face, chest, or back)
 • Sensitivity to cold
 • Weight gain
 • Constipation

Each month, we have a bastion of information that we can glean from our menstrual cycle. Every ache and pain provides critical information. Every “annoying” symptom is actually a sign - a sign of what’s going on inside of your body. Just like a road sign, it directs you where to go and what to do. And, since a healthy period is the foundation of a healthy pregnancy, it is critical that you pay attention to the signs that it’s sending you if you are looking to get pregnant anytime soon.

Newsflash: PMS is not inevitable. PMS is overwhelmingly common, but it is not normal (i.e., the way your body was designed to operate).

If you have lots of period symptoms, that’s an indicator of an underlying hormonal imbalance. For example, breast tenderness or heavy clotting can indicate excess estrogen and spotting can indicate low progesterone. Both of these hormonal states can make it harder to become pregnant and would ideally be corrected before you start trying.

Sometimes, it’s a minor imbalance that’s easy and quick to fix once you tune in. And sometimes, it’s a more fundamental imbalance that can take more time, energy and effort to correct. The key is to tune in and give yourself time to course correct. Your body is incredibly resilient, especially with the right tools and the right amount of time.

Do you get a regular period (every ~25-35 days)?

The prototypical period in every women’s health book is 28 days. And, while that looks nice on charts and graphs, in reality, women’s cycles aren’t quite so precise. However, a cycle that comes consistently every 28-32 days is ideal for fertility.

If your period is either too short (< 25 days) or too long (> 35 days), that can interfere with your ability to conceive easily.

With periods that are consistently short, there may not be enough time for the fertilized embryo to implant in the uterus.

With periods that are consistently long, that may be an indication of irregular or absent ovulation or hormonal imbalance.

How long does your period typically last? How would you describe your menstrual bleeding? (light, medium, heavy, very heavy)

Ideally, you will experience 3-7 days of medium bleeding.

If you are bleeding too little (< 3 days; light bleeding or spotting), that can indicate a low hormonal state (e.g, estrogen, progesterone), which could make it challenging to get pregnant.

If you are bleeding too much (> 7 days; heavy or very heavy bleeding), that can indicate an excess hormone state (e.g., estrogen), which would also make it challenging to get pregnant. A high estrogen state is often accompanied by other unpleasant side effects as well (e.g., breast tenderness, clotting, heavy cramping, etc.).

Are you currently on hormonal birth control (e.g., pill, ring, IUD, shot)?

If you are planning to conceive, we generally recommend going off of any form of hormonal birth control at least 3 months prior to trying to conceive (and ideally, at least 6 months prior). Of course, please consult with your doctor before doing so. And, if you are not on hormonal birth control, please make sure that you are using an alternative, non-hormonal form of birth control while you are preparing to conceive (e.g., condoms).

The reason we want to give ourselves plenty of time after going off of birth control is two-fold:

 1. Birth control can mask underlying hormonal imbalances while you are on it. For example, if you went on birth control for any reason other than contraception (e.g., acne, painful periods), that indicates a hormonal imbalance. While those symptoms may have subsided while on birth control, birth control did not correct those underlying imbalances and they will likely come back once you discontinue birth control. This is totally addressable, but you need to give your body the time to do so.

 2. Once you come off of birth control, the effects of hormonal birth control can increase barriers and therefore time to getting pregnant (e.g., through nutrient deficiencies, altered microbiome function and impaired detox). Coming off of hormonal birth control is an active, rather than a passive, process.

Given this, you may want to give yourself some time to transition off of birth control and ensure that your hormonal system is in good shape before trying to conceive.

Metabolic Status

Have you been diagnosed with any of the following conditions?
 • Pre-diabetes or diabetes
 • Hypertension

Blood sugar function is incredibly important when it comes to hormone regulation. Hormones are all intimately connected and interdependent. Too much sugar leads to too much insulin. Too much insulin leads to too much cortisol and too much testosterone. Too much cortisol depletes estrogen and progesterone. Too much insulin and too much cortisol lead to excess body fat. Excess body fat leads to too much estrogen. And the cycle continues. Balanced blood sugar—and hormone levels—is where it’s at.

A lot of times, doctors will screen for diabetes, but we frequently see customers who have prediabetes, the stage right before diabetes. Prediabetes indicates that your blood sugar management in your body is dysregulated, which can impact ovulation in females. We certainly see this disrupted ovulation in cases of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in females. But you don’t have to have diabetes to have anovulatory cycles. In other words, even early stages of blood sugar dysregulation can interfere with ovulation such that you can have periods during which you’re not ovulating.

If you know that you have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, then it will be important to work with your doctor or a nutritionist to either manage or reverse your diabetes prior to getting pregnant. Other indicators of poor blood sugar management are constant sugar cravings, feeling irritable/light-headed if you miss a meal, getting tired after eating, and feeling weak or shaky often. If you suspect that you have issues with blood sugar, it’s definitely worth exploring further.

Do you experience any of the following symptoms?
 • Severe headaches
 • Lightheadedness / fainting
 • Fatigue, especially after eating
 • Increased thirst and/or frequent urination

Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes, there are some symptoms that can be suggestive of insulin dysregulation or early stages of blood sugar dysregulation. If you experience these symptoms, consider running lab tests to assess your metabolic status.

Nutrient Status

Have you been diagnosed with any of the following?
 • Vitamin D deficiency
 • B vitamin deficiency (e.g., folate, B12)

Nutrient status is critically important for optimal fertility and a healthy pregnancy. The nutrient that you have probably heard the most about is folate. It is incredibly important, certainly for preventing neural tube defects. However, there are a lot of other unsung heroes when it comes to nutrients in the preconception period, including vitamin B12, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, and vitamin D.

We especially want to highlight the important role of vitamin D. Vitamin D has incredibly diverse functions in the body. Vitamin D deficiency can increase maternal risk of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. It has also been associated with low birth weight, poor skeletal health, impaired brain development, autoimmune disease, obesity, and insulin resistance in babies. Vitamin D levels are easy to measure and fairly easy to address, but it can take up to six months to replete levels, depending on how much of a deficiency you have.

Do you have any of the following symptoms?
 • Fatigue
 • Headaches
 • Pale or yellow skin
 • Poor memory
 • Burning / pins-and-needles sensation in hands and feet
 • Dry skin
 • Mood swings or depression
 • Pain / inflammation of the mouth and tongue

Symptoms don’t just come into play with chronic conditions. Certain symptoms can also be an early indicator of a nutrient imbalance. If you experience these symptoms, consider doing nutrient testing to find out if you have deficiencies.

How often do you have the following foods?
 • Coffee
 • Packaged beverages (e.g. juice, soda, energy drinks)
 • Packages snacks, including sweet (e.g. cakes, cookies, candies) and savory (e.g. chips, pretzels)
 • Fast food
 • Alcohol
 • Sugar in any process form (e.g. agave, brown rice syrup, candy, fruit juice concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, sugar)
 • Leafy green vegetables

Diet is incredibly important when it comes to fertility. In fact, studies have shown that those who followed the principles of a “fertility diet” reduced their risk of ovulatory infertility by 80-90%. Suffice it to say, food is the foundation of a fertile lifestyle.

Certain foods such as excessive caffeine, processed foods (i.e., packaged sweet and savory snacks), fast food, alcohol, and sugar are considered to be fertility foes. These foods can lead to increased levels of inflammation in the body and should be minimized as much as possible.

While it is important to understand what foods can interfere with fertility outcomes and should therefore be minimized in your diet, it’s even more important to focus on what to add to your eating plan for optimal fertility.

Nim Barnes, founder of Foresight, sums it up well: “...it has been found that in all types of animal life, from insect to mammal, a diet which supports normal adult life is not necessarily sufficient to support reproduction.”

In other words, eating for fertility is not quite the same as eating for daily life.

Barnes continues, “Besides taking in extra calories for growth and energy, you need extra vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and amino acids.” Moreover, women on healthy diets have been shown to have better pregnancy outcomes than those on poor diets.

Adding in nutrient dense, fertility-friendly foods (e.g., leafy green vegetables) is just as important as minimizing fertility foes (e.g., lots of sugar, fast food).

Are you currently taking a multivitamin?

Research shows that women who take fertility-supportive supplements get pregnant faster and have better pregnancies. Moreover, studies also show that “The nutritional status of both women and men before conception has profound implications for the growth, development and long-term health of their offspring.”

Supplementation prior to pregnancy makes it easier to get pregnant, increases the likelihood of a healthy pregnancy and sets the stage for a healthier baby. Unfortunately, not all supplements are created equal, so make sure you are choosing quality providers. This will ensure that you are getting the right form of the vitamin at the right dosage with minimal unnecessary additives and fillers.

Do you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet?

Many clinical studies have found that vegetarian women have more menstrual difficulties and irregularities than their non-vegetarian peers. Several studies have also corroborated the fact that vegetarians tend to have lower hormone levels than their meat-eating counterparts.

There are two main reasons for this:

 1. You need cholesterol to make your sex hormones
 2. Certain nutrients are only available in animal products (e.g, vitamin A - retinoids, vitamin D, vitamin B12).

People may choose to follow a vegan or vegetarian diet for a variety of reasons and we support each individual making their own choice. However, we also think it’s important for individuals to have the facts so they can make the most informed choice possible.

What is your current BMI?

The optimal body mass index (BMI) for fertility is in the normal range between 18.5-24.9 or body fat between ~20-26%. Being overweight or underweight can pose health risks for you and your baby.

Both overweight and underweight women carry increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, but for different reasons. If you are overweight, both you (e.g., pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes) and your baby (e.g., large for gestational age) can suffer ill health consequences. If you are underweight, both you (e.g., anemia) and your baby (e.g., small for gestational age) can suffer ill health consequences. Since losing weight during pregnancy is not advised, it is important to address your weight prior to getting pregnant if you are overweight or obese. And, since your body will be preferentially nourished over your baby’s body, it is important to address your weight and nutrient status prior to getting pregnant if you are underweight. In both cases, you want to be making these adjustments before you get pregnant.

Note: We are not a huge fan of BMI measurements, but it’s the most cited clinical measurement that we have to date. We prefer to use body fat measurements, since they are a more accurate reflection of your body composition. Body composition matters because it affects hormone levels. Fat is not inert tissue; it is hormonally-active tissue. The more body fat you have, the more estrogen your body produces. Because of this, as we mentioned above, excess body fat can predispose you to a higher estrogenic state, which can interfere with ovulation. On the opposite end of the spectrum, having too low body fat indicates to your body that you are “starving” and your body then diverts resources from making your sex hormones to making stress hormones. This means you don’t have the raw materials to make adequate sex hormones and ovulation can be impacted as a result. As nutritionists who has worked with hundreds of women, we recognize that every body is different, but generally speaking, being higher or lower than the ranges listed above can interfere with ovulation.

Mental & Emotional Status

Have you been diagnosed with any of the following?
 • Depression
 • Anxiety

The pregnancy and postpartum period can be an especially taxing time from a mental and emotional perspective. For individuals that have a history of anxiety or depression, we suggest you work closely with your care team to ensure you have the resources you need to support you on this journey.

We also like to remind customer that not all anxiety and depression medications are considered safe during pregnancy. Speak with your provider to determine if you need to adjust any medications prior to conceiving.

General Questions

How old are you?

Age is one factor when it comes to fertility.

Despite the media messaging, it is not the only factor. Likely fertility does decrease with age, but it is not the precipitous drop we are led to believe it is. Your fertility is an extension of your overall health.

One of the reasons that pregnancy risk goes up as you age is because the probability of health problems also goes up as you age.

Because of this, the older you are, the more your health matters when it comes to fertility.

How many prescription medications do you take (not including hormonal birth control)?

Certain medications are known to interfere with fertility. This is why the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends prepregnancy counseling for all women planning to conceive in the next year. They advise that “All prescription and nonprescription medications should be reviewed during prepregnancy counseling. This review also should include nutritional supplements and herbal products that patients may not consider to be medication use but could affect reproduction and pregnancy.”