What to Expect During Pregnancy Check-Ups

If you’re pregnant as a first-time mom, we know you’re likely filled with excitement and joy, though probably feeling a bit overwhelmed. That’s OK. While pregnancy is a beautiful thing worthy of celebration, it’s a new season of life that brings many questions and unknowns. But we’re here to give you a comprehensive breakdown of what to expect during your pregnancy checkups by trimester, so you can feel ready and confident for every appointment.

Prenatal Checkups Explained

A prenatal checkup is a routine visit with your OB/GYN to assess your baby's health and development and to closely monitor your health as your body works overtime to sustain another life. These visits serve as pregnancy checkpoints to help detect potential complications, such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes and to provide expert guidance on lifestyle and nutritional changes, proper medication use, screening tests you may need and what to expect during pregnancy and labor and delivery.

Your nine-month pregnancy will be divided into three-month periods, known as trimesters. During your first and second trimesters, prenatal visits are spaced further apart. Between weeks four and 28, you’ll visit your provider once a month. From 28 to 36 weeks, you’ll likely have an appointment every two weeks. As you enter your third trimester, you’ll visit your OB/GYN weekly to monitor you and your baby as you approach the beautiful milestone of birth. Let’s take a closer look at each trimester so you and your family know what to expect during your pregnancy.

First Trimester

Once you suspect you’re pregnant, it’s time for your first-trimester visit. To confirm your pregnancy, your OB/GYN will likely order a transvaginal ultrasound and a complete blood count (CBC) test. Your first trimester visits are essential to monitor your and your baby’s health in the beginning stages of pregnancy. At these visits, you can expect:

• A Medical History Review: Discussion of previous pregnancies, current medications, family history and potential risk factors
• Lab Work: Blood tests and urine samples to check for specific diseases
• Physical Exams: Evaluation of your height, weight and blood pressure, as well as a Pap smear and ultrasound

Your OB/GYN will review your tests and ultrasounds and discuss what to expect during pregnancy, including any lifestyle and medication changes you need. Once you reach 10 weeks, you have the option to receive noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for a comprehensive look at your baby’s health. This exam uses the mother’s blood to screen your baby for chromosomal and genetic abnormalities and to determine your baby’s sex.

Throughout your first trimester, you should expect routine lab work and physical exams at each appointment. As your body adjusts to supporting new life, you’ll likely experience new symptoms, so be sure to discuss them with your OB/GYN during your appointments. As you near the end of your first trimester, your provider will be able to use a specialized device called a Doppler to hear your baby’s heartbeat.

Second Trimester

Prenatal appointments in your second trimester are very similar to those in your first. Your OB/GYN will continue to monitor your physical health, ensure you’re progressing as expected, discuss any new or changing symptoms and evaluate your baby’s growth and development through ultrasounds and heart rate monitoring.

Two hallmarks of the second trimester include a gestational diabetes test and an in-depth anatomy scan to evaluate your baby’s growth and development. Both assessments play a major role in determining your and your baby's needs for the remainder of your pregnancy and in helping you navigate labor and delivery plans.

Gestational Diabetes

As the name suggests, gestational diabetes is when you develop diabetes during pregnancy. While its exact cause remains unknown, a contributing factor is the hormones produced by the placenta. The placenta is your baby’s lifeline for most of pregnancy, providing essential hormones that support your baby’s growth. But these hormones can sometimes block the mother’s insulin, leading to insulin resistance.

Because gestational diabetes often presents with no symptoms, testing is the only way to determine whether you have it, highlighting the importance of screening. If you develop gestational diabetes, rest assured that it’s highly manageable when caught early through nutritional changes, medications and lifestyle adjustments. If left untreated, it can lead to a high birth weight, preterm delivery or the need for a cesarean birth.

Anatomy Ultrasound

The anatomy ultrasound is a comprehensive exam of your baby from head to toe, evaluating key aspects of their development. Elements of this scan include:

• Anomaly Detection: Scans for major physical abnormalities, like spina bifida, congenital heart defects and cleft lip
• Fluid Monitoring: Evaluates the level of amniotic fluid to assess placental health and ensure the baby has enough room to grow
• Internal Organ Check: A comprehensive look at the structure and function of your baby’s heart, lungs, spine, bones, brain, kidneys and stomach
• Placenta Evaluation: Determine its location, structure and blood flow to rule out complications

This essential scan between 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy gives you and your care team vital information about your baby’s health, so you can work together to create a personalized delivery and postnatal plan that supports your and your baby’s health.

Third Trimester

Once you reach your third trimester, appointments become more frequent. You can expect to visit your OB/GYN once every two weeks until you’re 36 weeks pregnant; then you’ll visit every week. This is when your provider will ask you to pay closer attention to your baby’s kicks and movements. Further cervical exams will be performed to monitor your progress and check for certain bacteria that may be present on your skin, ensuring antibiotics are provided during labor to keep your baby safe.

In addition to monitoring your baby’s growth and your progress toward birth, your provider will begin educating you about labor and delivery, the signs of labor and your personal birth plan. This is a great time to ask any questions you may have about delivery and what life after birth will be like.

Pregnancy Health Management

Once you find out you’re pregnant, there are many things you can do to support your and your baby’s health, like staying properly hydrated. From your first trimester appointment to the end of pregnancy, your OB/GYN will recommend that you take a dedicated prenatal vitamin rich in folic acid. This supplement helps prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spine and offers other essential nutrients to nurture your baby’s growth.

It’s best to eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein and calcium-rich dairy. However, there are certain foods that you should avoid while pregnant, including:

• Deli meat
• High-mercury fish
• More than 200 milligrams of caffeine daily
• Raw eggs
• Raw or undercooked meat or seafood
• Unpasteurized dairy

In addition to proper nutrition and prenatal supplementation, be sure to monitor your symptoms. This is incredibly helpful for you and your care team to catch abnormalities early and prevent complications. It also helps establish a baseline for you — every woman is different, and so is every pregnancy. Knowing what’s normal and what isn’t allows you to create a more personalized pregnancy plan.

Whole-Hearted Maternity Care

When it comes to preparing for your special delivery, know that our compassionate care team will be right by your side every step of the way, from conception through birth and postpartum. Learn more about our mother and baby care services and how we can support your pregnancy journey, or find a dedicated mother and baby provider close to home.