What to Expect at Each Prenatal Visit
What to expect at each prenatal visit is a gradual and exciting introduction to the newest member of your family! Over the course of your pregnancy, you will see, hear and feel your new baby. At delivery, you will finally be able to put a face to the precious child you've come to know.
At the first visit, you will begin to establish a new rapport with your doctor. Discussion will begin with the date of your last period to establish your due date. Your health history will be reviewed. If you have any medical problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes, these issues will be addressed. Modifications to the number or frequency of visits and ultrasounds will be made.
Various outside factors in your life need to be addressed. For example, if you have cats, we ask you not to change their litter box or get too snuggly with them. If you travel for business or have a particularly strenuous job, this should be discussed.
Some basic rules of thumb are:
1. Check with your doctor on all prescription drugs.
2. Stay away from caffeine and alcohol.
3. Keep exercise to 30 minutes a day maximum for aerobics and keep your
pulse under 140 beats per minute.
4. Travel is okay on an individual basis, up to about 30 weeks.
After going over this information, you will receive an exam. A breast check and pap smear will be done, as well as cultures for bacteria and blood work to check your blood type and count, to rule out any sexually transmitted diseases, and to check your carrier status for cystic fibrosis.
Now for the most exciting part: the ultrasound to see your little white dot! Depending on how far along you are, you may see a heartbeat, arm and leg buds, and sometimes even spontaneous movement of the baby.
The next visits are every four weeks, up to 30 weeks gestation. They are quick and easy. Each time, your blood pressure, weight, and urine are checked. Your tummy is measured for growth and the heartbeat is heard. This enables us to assure you of adequate growth and to determine that no problems are arising from your changing hormones.
At 16 weeks gestation, a blood test is done to check for Spina Bifida, Down's Syndrome, and other chromosome related problems. If the test result is abnormal, or if you are 35 years old or over, you may choose to have genetic testing. Your doctor will discuss this with you, if appropriate. Again, blood work is done at 26 to 30 weeks to screen for diabetes in everyone.
During this time, movement will become apparent around 20 weeks. This is the time to begin planning your birthing classes, looking for pediatricians, and starting to get your nursery ready at home.
At 30 weeks, your visits increase to every two weeks. Because more hormones are produced as the pregnancy progresses, the risk of problems also increases. The visits will not vary much in activity. At 36 weeks, you're on the downhill slide. Visits take place weekly. The same checks are done, but now an additional test for Group B Strep is performed. Your cervix will usually be checked each week in the hope of noting progress toward labor. These weekly visits continue until you go into labor or until 41 weeks (40 weeks is full term). At 41 weeks, your baby is "kicked out" of that wonderful home. Going more than one week overdue is usually considered dangerous.
And then, it feels like it all happened so fast. The baby is here, and you have a face to behold and fingers and toes to count! But it's just beginning — the diapers, the sleepless nights, they're asking to borrow the car keys.