What will the doctor do at my first prenatal appointment?

A lot of women want to know what is going to happen at the first prenatal appointment. And it's a very important appointment that usually happens between 8 weeks and 12 weeks gestation. The first thing they're going to do is have you take another pregnancy test to verify that you are indeed pregnant. And then they're going to establish a due date. This is probably going to be based on your last menstrual period, if you were regular. And if you were irregular and have no idea where you were in your cycles, then they might do an ultrasound to determine how big your baby is at that point. And if an ultrasound is done early in the pregnancy, then it's a pretty reliable factor in determining how far along you are. You can expect the doctor to ask you a lot of questions about your health history, about your family's health history, any genetic problems that might run in the family, if you've had surgery before, if you're taking medication, and if you've been pregnant before. They'll review that history, and that helps them determine if there's things they need to watch you for during the pregnancy, like things you're at greater risk for. They'll also have you do a urine test, and they'll draw your blood, and they're looking for additional risk factors that might need to be monitored throughout the pregnancy. If you're over 12 weeks, then the doctor will try to hear the baby's heartbeat using a doppler. Before then, it's hard to hear, so if the doctor tries and can't hear it, then that's okay. It doesn't mean that there is no heartbeat, it's just hard to hear until that point in pregnancy. This appointment is also an opportunity for you to ask questions, and for the doctor to educate you on topics like safe seatbelt use, exercise, weight-gain during pregnancy, things to avoid - like if you're using alcohol, drugs or tobacco, you should stop. You should think twice about everything you put in your mouth really, like over-the-counter medications. They'll review your prescriptions with you and make sure that they're all safe, and talk to you about thinking twice about even herbal supplements. You should always make sure those things are safe to take while you're pregnant before you take them. They'll also discuss typical discomforts of pregnancy like nausea, vomiting, fatigue, reflux, all of those things, and discuss different ways you can overcome them or combat them during pregnancy. They'll talk to you about things you can expect to be normal, things that are abnormal, reasons to get checked out, and of course, come with questions that you've been thinking about. So if you have them, write them down and pull them out at your appointment, because doctors always say, "Do you have any questions?", and usually our minds are just blank, and we say "no", we walk out, and we think, "Oh, there's a million things that I did want to know." So write down your questions, bring them to your appointment, and make sure you've had all of your questions answered before you leave. Remember 13 by 13 - see the doctor by 13 weeks gestation at the latest, and plan on about 13 weeks over the course of the pregnancy, possibly more if you need additional monitoring. Prenatal care is so important to your well-being and the well-being of your baby. If you have any other questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at   / intermountainmoms  , and recommend us to your friends and family too.