Prenatal care should start before pregnancy

      Dr. Alisa Hideg via @spokesmanreview Anyone thinking about pregnancy, should also be thinking about prenatal care. This care is important for the mother’s health and the health of the child. Whenever possible, it should begin prior to pregnancy. A visit with your health care provider prior to pregnancy to review your immunizations, start a prenatal vitamin with folic acid (which can prevent certain birth defects if begun prior to pregnancy) and otherwise “check in” is always a good idea. Once you are pregnant, regular prenatal care visits during pregnancy are just as important to your baby’s future health as regular visits for well child exams after birth. A first prenatal visit, best done before the 12th week of pregnancy, may typically involve a physical exam, a pelvic exam, lab work (on blood and urine), sexually transmitted infection screening (to check for Hepatitis B, syphilis, chlamydia and HIV) and a Pap smear test. Your health care provider calculates your approximate due date at this first visit. Often, an ultrasound will be ordered to confirm how far along the pregnancy is. If you are at least 10 weeks pregnant, your health care provider might listen for the heartbeat. This can be difficult before 12 weeks of pregnancy. Subsequent prenatal visits are every four to eight weeks until you are 28 weeks pregnant. At all prenatal visits, you can expect your health care provider to weigh you, check on the size of your uterus, check your bl...
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