Pregnancy examination is a mandatory agenda that must be carried out by a pregnant woman. With regular checkups, doctors can monitor the health condition of you and your baby in the womb.
Prenatal care consists of prenatal (before giving birth) and postpartum (after giving birth) health care. The purpose of prenatal care is to ensure a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery, for both mother and baby. When consulting with a doctor, you can also ask for some information about pregnancy.
Pregnancy Checkup Schedule
Ideally, pregnant women need to visit the doctor for a pregnancy check at least 8 times. You need to take time once a month to see a doctor during the first six months of pregnancy. When entering the age of 7-8 months of pregnancy, do the examination every two weeks. The intensity of visits is increased to once per week, when the pregnancy is nine months old.
However, there is also a possibility that you will need to see your doctor more often, if you:
- Pregnant over the age of 35 years.
- Risk of giving birth prematurely.
- Experiencing pregnancy complications.
- Have a history of diseases, such as asthma, lupus, anemia, diabetes, high blood pressure, or obesity.
Through prenatal care, doctors can monitor the condition of you and your fetus in the womb, such as identifying any pregnancy complications and dealing with them immediately before things get worse, as well as preventing the risk of impaired growth of the baby in the womb.
At the time of the pregnancy check-up, the doctor will remind you to stop smoking and stop consuming alcoholic beverages, and stay away from toxic substances that can harm the womb. In addition, doctors will also provide folic acid supplements for pregnant women during the first trimester of pregnancy.
What Just which Done during pregnancy checkup?
When you do a pregnancy test for the first time, your doctor will ask you about your overall health. This includes your menstrual cycle, diseases you and your family have experienced, lifestyle, and medications you take. If this is not your first pregnancy, your doctor may ask about your previous pregnancy experiences.
In addition, you may undergo various examinations, such as:
- Inspection physiqueThis examination consists of checking your weight and height, blood pressure, the condition of your breasts, heart and lungs. Chances are the doctor will check the vagina, uterus and cervix to see if there is a possibility of interference with your pregnancy.
- urine testThis test is used to find out if there is a urinary tract or kidney infection. A urine test can also be done to detect whether there is protein or sugar in the urine.
- blood test
blood test
useful for knowing your blood type (including your rhesus status), measuring hemoglobin levels, knowing if you have certain infectious conditions, such as smallpox, rubella, hepatitis B, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, toxoplasmosis or HIV/AIDS.
- Screening test fetusThis test can provide an overview of the health condition of the fetus. Tests that can be done are ultrasound or blood tests. If needed, the doctor may suggest genetic testing of the fetus.
The estimated time of birth of the baby is also usually discussed at the first visit. On this occasion, you can ask about various things about pregnancy. Starting from what kind of intake should be consumed and avoided by pregnant women, drugs or vitamins that should be taken by pregnant women, safe exercise for pregnant women, to having sex during pregnancy.
At your next visit, you may not need to go through everything that was done at the first prenatal care. The doctor may perform basic examinations, such as measuring weight, blood pressure, monitoring fetal development, and the symptoms you experienced during pregnancy.
At the age of nine months, the pregnancy examination will include basic checks plus vaginal, cervical and baby position checks.
Pregnancy is a vulnerable period. It is important to take extra time to pay attention to the condition of you and your baby in the womb. Do regular pregnancy check-ups to avoid unwanted things. Similarly, if you feel abnormal symptoms, immediately visit a doctor.
