Before getting pregnant, I used to wonder what is prenatal care? Is it really that necessary? Yes! Prenatal care is the safest way to ensure that the pregnancy is surrounded by care, that all the necessary exams are being done to prevent unforeseen events during pregnancy. It is crucial for both mother and baby.
As soon as I suspected I was pregnant, several friends warned me to start prenatal care as soon as I got a positive test confirming the pregnancy. Even before the 6th week I scheduled an appointment with my OB-GYN (GO).
What is Prenatal Care
At the doctor’s office, I learned more about the initial pregnancy procedures and found out that prenatal care involves both monthly consultations (weekly at the end of pregnancy) as well as routine exams such as blood tests, urine tests, Pap smear (oncotic cytology), and others.
Prenatal care should start with choosing the doctor since they will accompany you throughout the pregnancy. Trusting the professional who will care for your pregnancy is essential. After booking the appointment, you should write down the date of your last period, so even with irregular cycles, the doctor will have an idea of how many weeks pregnant you are. If you haven’t done the beta yet, do it.
Bringing the test to confirm that it is really positive and to show a safe hormone level for that gestational age can speed up the prenatal process. During all of prenatal care, the doctor will monitor the expectant mother from the very first weeks.
Prenatal care is also important to determine the number of fetuses being gestated; the ultrasound is used to see whether it’s a multiple or single pregnancy. Multiple pregnancies are considered high-risk, so a high-risk prenatal doctor will monitor the pregnant woman.
What Prenatal Exams Should Be Done
At the first appointment, the doctor will check blood pressure, weigh the mother-to-be, and may measure her belly. If everything is fine with the blood pressure, the doctor will prescribe folic acid (if the mother isn’t already taking it) and order the following prenatal exams to be done:
Complete Blood Count
Checks the status of white blood cells, red blood cells, and other components. It also checks if platelets are at appropriate levels (above 200). This test is done monthly.
Urine Test
Lets the doctor know if the mother-to-be has a urinary tract infection or any elevated substances in the body. Ketones, proteins, and other enzymes are measured so the doctor can see if everything is fine. This test is done every two months.
Glucose
Checks the amount of sugar in the blood. Through this test it’s possible to know if the woman is at risk for gestational diabetes. This exam is done each trimester of the pregnancy.
HIV (AIDS virus)
Checks for the presence of the virus. If positive, the mother will need to take medication during pregnancy and the baby must have as little exposure as possible to the mother’s blood at birth to avoid contamination and cannot be breastfed.
VDRL
Test that investigates the presence of syphilis. The disease can cause malformation in the fetus if not treated efficiently and early. Rubella: Also preventive against malformations. The rubella exam is done in two parts to identify IgG (antibodies) and IgM (active infection) in the pregnant woman’s body.
Toxoplasmosis
With the same purpose as the rubella and VDRL tests, it aims to prevent malformations in the baby. Your IgG should be reactive; if not, you should avoid contact with animal feces, such as from cats.
Cytomegalovirus
It belongs to the herpes family and can cause problems for the mother-to-be. This virus can cause a sudden drop in the pregnant woman’s immunity. The aim of this test is to check whether the woman is already immune to the disease.
Hepatitis C and B
Both forms of hepatitis can be transmitted to the baby at birth, so it’s important to know if the mother is a carrier of the virus. It is also necessary to know if the mother has the disease so the doctor can monitor her more closely, looking for signs of preterm labor or even acute infections while still pregnant.
In addition to blood tests, stool exams and also ultrasounds are ordered by doctors. It is important to know if the pregnant woman has any parasites (in the stool) and the ultrasound is to check if the baby is implanted in the right place and to determine how many weeks the pregnancy is.
The earlier in the pregnancy, the lower the chance of mistakes with dates. Throughout pregnancy, some other ultrasounds are requested, the morphological or nuchal translucency scan at 12 weeks, at 20 weeks and at 34 weeks. Some doctors may order additional ultrasounds depending on the mother’s health and if there’s any suspicion something might be wrong with the pregnancy.
The morphological ultrasound checks the health of all the baby’s organs. Some doctors may also request a fetal echocardiogram. It is a specific ultrasound to look at the heart’s chambers and confirm that it is properly formed. In every ultrasound, the doctor will check the degree of maturity of the placenta, ensure the baby is growing properly and, of course, check the sex of the fetus.
Measuring the belly is an exam performed at every appointment starting from the 12th week. At this stage, the doctor can already check the uterine height and know if the baby is developing according to gestational age. The office also has the Doppler test, a device that lets the doctor hear the baby’s heartbeat using sound waves.
This exam is done from the 16th week of pregnancy onward and it doesn’t always work, so don’t worry if the doctor hasn’t been able to hear the baby’s heartbeat yet. Depending on the quality and condition of the doctor’s device, they may only be able to hear fetal heartbeats from the 22nd week.
Pelvic Exam
The pelvic exam is only done if necessary, and it is not performed at every appointment. Weight gain is also monitored during prenatal appointments, as well as blood pressure, to prevent problems with gestational hypertension.
I learned that having good prenatal care means being sure that the baby is well and that the birth will happen at the right time. Closely following the progress of the pregnancy is essential for the mother’s peace of mind and to ensure a pregnancy free of concerns.
Make your obstetrician your best friend.
See also: Prenatal Exams – Why Are They Important?
Photos: wayne mah, Ⅿeagan
_ Caixa de Informações Chave:
- Prenatal care is the safest way to make sure your pregnancy is surrounded by care, with all necessary exams being done to prevent unexpected events during pregnancy.
- Prenatal care involves both monthly consultations (weekly at the end of pregnancy) and routine tests such as blood, urine, Pap smear (oncotic cytology), and others.
- Prenatal care also helps determine the number of fetuses being gestated; ultrasound is used to see if the pregnancy is multiple or single.
- In addition to blood tests, doctors also require stool exams and ultrasounds. It is important to know if the pregnant woman has any parasites (in her stool).
- The pelvic exam is only done if necessary and is not performed at every appointment.
