testcontainers
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
@@ -44,13 +44,29 @@ Getting Started
     >>> import sqlalchemy
 
     >>> with PostgresContainer("postgres:9.5") as postgres:
-    ...     engine = sqlalchemy.create_engine(postgres.get_connection_url())
+    ...     psql_url = postgres.get_connection_url()
+    ...     engine = sqlalchemy.create_engine(psql_url)
     ...     result = engine.execute("select version()")
     ...     version, = result.fetchone()
     >>> version
-    'PostgreSQL 9.5...'
+    'PostgreSQL ......'
+
+The snippet above will spin up a postgres database in a container. The :code:`get_connection_url()` convenience method returns a :code:`sqlalchemy` compatible url we use to connect to the database and retrieve the database version. 
+
+.. doctest::
+
+    >>> import asyncpg
+    >>> from testcontainers.postgres import PostgresContainer
+
+    >>> with PostgresContainer("postgres:9.5", driver=None) as postgres:
+    ...     psql_url = container.get_connection_url()
+    ...     with asyncpg.create_pool(dsn=psql_url,server_settings={"jit": "off"}) as pool:
+    ...         conn = await pool.acquire()
+    ...         ret = await conn.fetchval("SELECT 1")
+    ...         assert ret == 1
+
+This snippet does the same, however the driver is set to None, to influence the :code:`get_connection_url()` convenience method. Note, that the :code:`sqlalchemy` package is no longer a dependency to launch the Postgres container, so your project must provide support for the specified driver.
 
-The snippet above will spin up a postgres database in a container. The :code:`get_connection_url()` convenience method returns a :code:`sqlalchemy` compatible url we use to connect to the database and retrieve the database version.
 
 Installation
 ------------

diff --git a/core/testcontainers/core/generic.py b/core/testcontainers/core/generic.py
@@ -20,27 +20,77 @@
 ADDITIONAL_TRANSIENT_ERRORS = []
 try:
     from sqlalchemy.exc import DBAPIError
+
     ADDITIONAL_TRANSIENT_ERRORS.append(DBAPIError)
 except ImportError:
     pass
 
 
+class DependencyFreeDbContainer(DockerContainer):
+    """
+    A generic database without any package dependencies
+    """
+
+    def start(self) -> "DbContainer":
+        self._configure()
+        super().start()
+        self._verify_status()
+        return self
+
+    def _verify_status(self) -> "DependencyFreeDbContainer":
+        """override this method to ensure the database is running and accepting connections"""
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+    def _configure(self) -> None:
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+    def _create_connection_url(
+        self,
+        dialect: str,
+        username: str,
+        password: str,
+        host: Optional[str] = None,
+        port: Optional[int] = None,
+        dbname: Optional[str] = None,
+        **kwargs,
+    ) -> str:
+        if raise_for_deprecated_parameter(kwargs, "db_name", "dbname"):
+            raise ValueError(f"Unexpected arguments: {','.join(kwargs)}")
+        if self._container is None:
+            raise ContainerStartException("container has not been started")
+        host = host or self.get_container_host_ip()
+        port = self.get_exposed_port(port)
+        url = f"{dialect}://{username}:{password}@{host}:{port}"
+        if dbname:
+            url = f"{url}/{dbname}"
+        return url
+
+
 class DbContainer(DockerContainer):
     """
     Generic database container.
     """
+
     @wait_container_is_ready(*ADDITIONAL_TRANSIENT_ERRORS)
     def _connect(self) -> None:
         import sqlalchemy
+
         engine = sqlalchemy.create_engine(self.get_connection_url())
         engine.connect()
 
     def get_connection_url(self) -> str:
         raise NotImplementedError
 
-    def _create_connection_url(self, dialect: str, username: str, password: str,
-                               host: Optional[str] = None, port: Optional[int] = None,
-                               dbname: Optional[str] = None, **kwargs) -> str:
+    def _create_connection_url(
+        self,
+        dialect: str,
+        username: str,
+        password: str,
+        host: Optional[str] = None,
+        port: Optional[int] = None,
+        dbname: Optional[str] = None,
+        **kwargs,
+    ) -> str:
         if raise_for_deprecated_parameter(kwargs, "db_name", "dbname"):
             raise ValueError(f"Unexpected arguments: {','.join(kwargs)}")
         if self._container is None:
@@ -52,7 +102,7 @@ def _create_connection_url(self, dialect: str, username: str, password: str,
             url = f"{url}/{dbname}"
         return url
 
-    def start(self) -> 'DbContainer':
+    def start(self) -> "DbContainer":
         self._configure()
         super().start()
         self._connect()

diff --git a/postgres/testcontainers/postgres/__init__.py b/postgres/testcontainers/postgres/__init__.py
@@ -11,12 +11,16 @@
 #    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
 #    under the License.
 import os
+from time import sleep
 from typing import Optional
-from testcontainers.core.generic import DbContainer
+
+from testcontainers.core.config import MAX_TRIES, SLEEP_TIME
+from testcontainers.core.generic import DependencyFreeDbContainer
 from testcontainers.core.utils import raise_for_deprecated_parameter
+from testcontainers.core.waiting_utils import wait_container_is_ready, wait_for_logs
 
 
-class PostgresContainer(DbContainer):
+class PostgresContainer(DependencyFreeDbContainer):
     """
     Postgres database container.
 
@@ -39,16 +43,24 @@ class PostgresContainer(DbContainer):
             >>> version
             'PostgreSQL 9.5...'
     """
-    def __init__(self, image: str = "postgres:latest", port: int = 5432,
-                 username: Optional[str] = None, password: Optional[str] = None,
-                 dbname: Optional[str] = None, driver: str = "psycopg2", **kwargs) -> None:
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        image: str = "postgres:latest",
+        port: int = 5432,
+        username: Optional[str] = None,
+        password: Optional[str] = None,
+        dbname: Optional[str] = None,
+        driver: str | None = "psycopg2",
+        **kwargs,
+    ) -> None:
         raise_for_deprecated_parameter(kwargs, "user", "username")
         super(PostgresContainer, self).__init__(image=image, **kwargs)
-        self.username = username or os.environ.get("POSTGRES_USER", "test")
-        self.password = password or os.environ.get("POSTGRES_PASSWORD", "test")
-        self.dbname = dbname or os.environ.get("POSTGRES_DB", "test")
+        self.username: str = username or os.environ.get("POSTGRES_USER", "test")
+        self.password: str = password or os.environ.get("POSTGRES_PASSWORD", "test")
+        self.dbname: str = dbname or os.environ.get("POSTGRES_DB", "test")
         self.port = port
-        self.driver = driver
+        self.driver = f"+{driver}" if driver else ""
 
         self.with_exposed_ports(self.port)
 
@@ -59,7 +71,27 @@ def _configure(self) -> None:
 
     def get_connection_url(self, host=None) -> str:
         return super()._create_connection_url(
-            dialect=f"postgresql+{self.driver}", username=self.username,
-            password=self.password, dbname=self.dbname, host=host,
+            dialect=f"postgresql{self.driver}",
+            username=self.username,
+            password=self.password,
+            dbname=self.dbname,
+            host=host,
             port=self.port,
         )
+
+    @wait_container_is_ready()
+    def _verify_status(self) -> None:
+        wait_for_logs(
+            self, ".*database system is ready to accept connections.*", MAX_TRIES, SLEEP_TIME
+        )
+
+        count = 0
+        while count < MAX_TRIES:
+            status, _ = self.exec(f"pg_isready -hlocalhost -p{self.port} -U{self.username}")
+            if status == 0:
+                return
+
+            sleep(SLEEP_TIME)
+            count += 1
+
+        raise RuntimeError("Postgres could not get into a ready state")
diff --git a/postgres/tests/test_postgres.py b/postgres/tests/test_postgres.py
@@ -1,20 +1,16 @@
-import sqlalchemy
 from testcontainers.postgres import PostgresContainer
 
 
 def test_docker_run_postgres():
-    postgres_container = PostgresContainer("postgres:9.5")
-    with postgres_container as postgres:
-        engine = sqlalchemy.create_engine(postgres.get_connection_url())
-        with engine.begin() as connection:
-            result = connection.execute(sqlalchemy.text("select version()"))
-            for row in result:
-                assert row[0].lower().startswith("postgresql 9.5")
+    # https://www.postgresql.org/support/versioning/
+    supported_versions = ["11", "12", "13", "14", "latest"]
 
+    for version in supported_versions:
+        postgres_container = PostgresContainer(f"postgres:{version}")
+        with postgres_container as postgres:
+            status, msg = postgres.exec(
+                f"pg_isready -hlocalhost -p{postgres.port} -U{postgres.username}"
+            )
 
-def test_docker_run_postgres_with_driver_pg8000():
-    postgres_container = PostgresContainer("postgres:9.5", driver="pg8000")
-    with postgres_container as postgres:
-        engine = sqlalchemy.create_engine(postgres.get_connection_url())
-        with engine.begin() as connection:
-            connection.execute(sqlalchemy.text("select 1=1"))
+            assert msg.decode("utf-8").endswith("accepting connections\n")
+            assert status == 0