A Guide To Your Pregnancy

The first step of your pregnancy, after seeing the little positive
stick should to have it confirmed. Call immediately to have a
pregnancy test done with your local doctor, you may be in luck and get
in that same day or have to wait about a week or two. Patience will
become your best friend during this time or your worst enemy, waiting
can become a very hard thing when you want to know for sure whether
you are or aren’t pregnant. More than likely you’ll get a phone call a
few days later to confirm it.

Set up an appointment to see your OB/GYN or midwife as soon as
possible, chances are you’ll be meeting his/her staff before you ever
meet them. This is the first appointment where your doctor/midwife
will want to know all your medical history. If you?ve been pregnant,
what types of sicknesses run in your family, etc. If you can, try
making sure you know all of this ahead of time, maybe even have it all
down on paper so when he/she asks you are prepared. During the days or
weeks leading up to this meeting you may have concerns, write them
down and ask them. Believe it or not doctors are there to help you,
and they?ve been asked every question you can possibly think of.
Before leaving your doctor may even give you a bag full of goodies all
about being pregnant. Read these, they may prove beneficial and not to
mention they?ve got coupons. Your doctor will either give you another
appointment or have you set one up before leaving. There are some
great books out there if you are really worried about what will happen
next or how birth is going to be, check them out at your local library.

Make sure that you get your prenatal vitamins, they are very important
during pregnancy. If for some reason you can?t take them, talk with
your doctor he/she may be able to prescribe a lower dosage or
something else. You?ll get your first ultrasound, also known as US
around week 20, this is normally when you find out what sex the baby
is. However some doctors like to call it safe and give you an
ultrasound around 10-12 weeks just to make sure the baby is in the
proper location and all is going well. You will also be asked to take
an orange drink that you must drink in five minutes. You?ll wait
around for an hour to three hours, at which point your blood gets
drawn and you can go home. The test determines if you have or have a
chance of getting gestational diabetes.

At first your appointments will be about 4 weeks apart until you hit
the 36 week and at that point it?ll be two weeks later and a week
later after that until the baby is born. By now you should be
preparing to have the baby. Yes, I?m sure you?ll have some anxiety
towards the end of your pregnancy. You?ve went this far, it?s time you
see your reward.