Early and regular prenatal care provides a foundation of health for your pregnancy, labor, and delivery. It can help ensure you and your baby are healthy and stay healthy. If problems arise, prenatal care can catch them early when they’re most treatable.
Prenatal care is crucial for all mothers – whether this is your first baby or your fourth. At FemmPro OB/GYN, we offer prenatal care to women, starting in their first trimester.
You probably know that we check your baby’s heartbeat and evaluate your weight at prenatal appointments, but there's so much more to these visits. Here’s what you don’t know about prenatal care.
Your baby’s health is a significant focus of prenatal visits, but the team at FemmPro OB/GYN is also here to support mom during pregnancy.
We are available to help you with nutrition and medication questions. We provide close and consistent management to ease uncomfortable symptoms like back pain, gas, and nausea. The team is also available if you have any concerns that arise in any trimester – give us a call or make an appointment to come in.
One important aspect of prenatal care is setting you up with optimal prenatal wellness including nutrition and vitamins. Birth defects of the brain and spine happen early in your baby’s development.
We can get you started on vitamins that include 800 - 1,000 mcg of folic acid and other nutrients that optimize you and your baby’s health and development. It’s a good idea to get started on these supplements even if you’re thinking about getting pregnant, so you’re ready if you do.
Early screenings during prenatal care detect any abnormalities in your baby so that they can be addressed early when we have a better chance of preventing complications.
We know that you have a busy schedule preparing your life and work for a baby. That’s why we make your prenatal visits easy to arrange and maintain a flexible schedule six days/week (Monday through Saturdays) including evening appointments. Your first visit will be lengthy, as we together create a personalized Birthing Plan for you. We will also acquire your medical (including past pregnancies) history, family history, take vitals, run blood tests and urinalysis, check the baby’s heart rate, measure your abdomen, and calculate your due date. Future visits are much quicker.
Think of your prenatal visits as a quick check-in to make sure everything is going okay and that you’re on track. You’ll schedule these visits throughout your pregnancy as needed.
If you are considered a high-risk pregnancy, you may need more frequent visits. Examples of high-risk pregnancies: advanced maternal age; expecting multiples; chronic diseases, like diabetes, hypertension or lupus.
At your first prenatal visit, we may want you to undergo a pelvic exam. However, you won’t have to worry about such exams at subsequent visits unless you have a specific concern.
Each ultrasound provides critical information throughout your prenatal care.
You may have an ultrasound early in pregnancy, around 8-10 weeks gestation. This helps us see your baby’s heartbeat and estimate your due date more accurately. We can also see if you might be expecting multiples.
At 12 weeks, you’ll have a nuchal translucency ultrasound to screen for chromosomal anomalies. At this time, a gender blood test can be done.
This is a detailed ultrasound at around 20 weeks of pregnancy. It lasts 20-45 minutes and checks for organ abnormalities or other defects. We also measure the placenta and amniotic fluid levels.
Our goal at FemmPro OB/GYN is to guide and support you at every stage of your pregnancy. We will co-create a Birthing Plan tailored to your needs. If you’re pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant, call one of our offices today or use the online tool to set up an appointment. We offer essential prenatal care, support during labor and delivery, and the postnatal care you need to have the healthiest pregnancy possible.
