Prenatal Care

What is prenatal care?

Prenatal care means looking after you and your unborn baby during your pregnancy.

Advanced Women's Health Specialists provides exceptional prenatal care for expectant mothers, carrying out regular health checks and monitoring your progress from your positive pregnancy test through to birth and beyond.

Your provider can also help you plan for the birth and how your life is going to change. At Advanced Women’s Health Specialists, pregnant women have the option of receiving care from an obstetrician, midwife, or both throughout their pregnancy.

What prenatal care do I need?

Once you have your pregnancy confirmed, you follow a program of routine exams and tests at Advanced Women's Health Specialists. Your provider takes regular blood pressure readings, urine samples, and blood tests to look for any potential problems.

Some of the more common issues affecting pregnancies include high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and infections. But with regular tests to check for signs of these or any other conditions, you can start any treatment you need to address these issues before they become a serious concern.

Your provider also covers general health topics, such as:

• Dietary requirements
• Managing stress
• Sleeping better
• Exercising safely

If you’re having trouble with common pregnancy problems like morning sickness or backache, your provider can check that there’s no underlying condition causing your symptoms. They can also advise you on managing any issues like these.

Will I need any prenatal tests?

There are several prenatal tests you can have during pregnancy. Your provider can advise you on which you should consider based on your health, medical history, and risk factors. For example, you might want to have screening tests for specific genetic conditions like cystic fibrosis.

You might also want to have tests for congenital conditions such as spina bifida and Down syndrome. Other prenatal tests you might need include:

• Blood type
• Rh factor
• Anemia
• STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) 
• Infections like toxoplasmosis
• Immunity to rubella
• Immunity to chickenpox

Of course, one of the most enjoyable of all your tests is the ultrasound scan, where you get to see your baby for the first time.

The main ultrasound is the anatomical survey done at 18-20 weeks. This is a thorough checkup of your baby's heart rate and organs, the placenta and amniotic fluid, and the counting of fingers and toes. It’s at this stage you can find out the sex of your baby if you wish to know – providing the technician can tell, which they can most of the time.

You can have other ultrasounds as part of your prenatal care as well, depending on whether you need them. These include:

• Early pregnancy ultrasound (6-8 weeks)
• Dating ultrasound (10-13 weeks)
• Nuchal translucency ultrasound (14-20 weeks)
• Doppler fetal monitoring

Advanced Women’s Health Specialists also offers 3D ultrasounds for an exceptionally detailed view of your baby.

If you have a high-risk pregnancy, you might need extra tests and treatments, but Advanced Women's Health Specialists is there to check you and your baby’s health every step of the way during pregnancy, so try not to worry too much about potential problems.

Call Advanced Women’s Health Specialists today to find out more about prenatal care or book an appointment using the online form.