What to Expect at Your First Prenatal Visitby Pattie Hughes | More from this Blogger 26 Dec 2006 11:19 PM If you are newly pregnant for the first time, you may be wondering about your first prenatal visit. Whether you are seeing an obstetrician or a midwife, your first visit will be longer and more involved than subsequent prenatal appointments. Regular prenatal care is important during pregnancy to assess your health and prevent or treat possible complications. You will be given a pregnancy test to confirm the pregnancy. This is usually a urine test. Your urine will also be tested for protein, sugar and bacteria. This will be done at every prenatal visit. You will be asked the date of your last menstrual period. Adding nine months and one week to this date is how your due date is calculated. The doctor or midwife will do a physical exam. You will be weighed to help keep track of how much weight you gain throughout the pregnancy. The doctor will do a pelvic exam and may examine your breasts. If you are due for a pap smear, this may be done as well. At this time, cultures may be taken to test for certain sexually transmitted diseases. Your health care provider will do an internal exam to check the shape and position of the uterus. A personal and family health history will be taken at this visit. You may be given a questionnaire to fill out with information about your health and the health of your family members. Certain conditions can be hereditary and could affect your health or your baby's. A history of diabetes or high blood pressure can put you at risk for complications. Your heath care provider needs this information to care for you properly. This is the time for you to ask questions or bring up any concerns you may have. Make a list of questions you want to ask. The doctor may give you printed information about pregnancy, nutrition or the practice. Read over this information and make a list of questions for your next visit. Related Articles: Choosing a Health Care Provider for Pregnancy Communicating with Your Doctor When is a Pregnancy High Risk? Learn more about Pattie Hughes  Pattie Hughes is a freelance writer and mother of four young children. She and her husband have been married since 1992. Pattie holds a degree in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University. Relevantpregnancy tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags health care in pregnancy, prenatal visit, prenatal check up Discuss this article
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