Preventive Care

Whether longed for or entirely unplanned, pregnancy and childbirth is a life-changing event. It can throw parents off the track for a while. In this chapter, you will find out where to seek help and support during pregnancy, what rights you have, and what issues you need to consider and plan for before childbirth. 

Babies quickly become kindergarteners and then schoolchildren. To ensure your child goes through a healthy development, paediatricians should examine them regularly. These examinations are called "Früherkennungs- und Vorsorgeuntersuchungen" , "U-Untersuchungen" or simply U-checkups. During the U-checkups, paediatricians check how your child is developing physically and mentally. They will discuss the results with you and provide further information on how to make sure your child will grow up healthy. Therefore, the U-checkups are an opportunity for you to discuss your questions and concerns about your child's health with paediatricians. During the examinations, the paediatricians also check whether your child has received all the necessary vaccinations for their age. You can learn more about these vaccinations in our chapter, "Vaccinations for children and adolescents".

Approximately half a million people in Germany are diagnosed with cancer every year. Some types of cancer, such as breast or cervical cancer, are, in fact, usually curable - but only if detected in time. Free health checks are intended to ensure any problem can be detected early on so that doctors can identify diseases as early as possible to prevent them from becoming severe or possibly fatal.

Some diseases can be sexually transmitted. They are commonly called "STDs" (sexually transmitted diseases) or "STIs" (sexually transmitted infections). These diseases are easy to contract, and the consequences of an infection can seriously affect one later in life. The misconception that these diseases are only common among certain groups of people is not true at all– anyone who is sexually active can get infected and, therefore, must watch out.

In this chapter, you will learn more about sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, AIDS and hepatitis. You will also find helpful information on how and where to have yourself anonymously examined for such infections in Germany. You will also find out where to seek medical and psychological support and how to protect yourself and others.

Children can often get sick. Usually, it is nothing serious and the child recovers soon. But children can also contract serious diseases. To ensure your children are well protected against such serious diseases, you can have them child vaccinated. Vaccination will prevent your child from contracting certain diseases or becoming seriously ill if they catch them. Like the U-Checkups, there is a schedule based on which your child needs to receive each vaccine at a certain age. You can learn more about the U-Checkups in our chapter "Health Checks for Children and Adolescents".

In Germany, vaccination isn’t compulsory, but strongly advised by all health authorities. If you are unsure what to do, you can ask your doctor for help, or base your decision on the German vaccination system and its specific recommendations.

Depending on the country you grew up in, you might already have been vaccinated against certain diseases. However, these illnesses might not be prevalent in Germany at all. Instead, German doctors might recommend vaccinations against other diseases. Even if you are an adult, you might, therefore, have to get vaccinated again. If you are unsure about this, ask your doctor about vaccinations for adults next time you have a medical appointment. You can learn more about the vaccines children and adolescents need in our chapter “Vaccination for Children and Adolescents”.