When that long-awaited wedding proposal finally comes and you are both blissfully happy, your mind is usually filled with the all-consuming task of planning the wedding and health checkups are often not a top priority.
But many health consultants are suggesting it should be. Hospitals and the Family Planning Association have been promoting premarital health testing for several years now.
Educating couples on health issues that could arise when starting a family is a key component of this service, says a spokesman at the Adventist Hospital, which offers premarital health checks to couples.
'Diseases can be detected in their early or asymptomatic stage, especially diseases that are infectious in nature or have grave consequences to their newborn,' says Dr Kenneth Ho Kai-chi, a general practitioner at the Adventist Hospital.
'Treatment can start at an early stage and safeguard the health of the couples and their future offspring.'
Ho says that, ideally, the checkup should be carried out six months before marriage so that any problems found can be addressed or in the worst case scenario, the marriage can be postponed until the problem is completely taken care of.