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Prenatal Doctor Visits

What to Expect During Office Exams from Conception to Delivery

By Renee Roberson

During the last few weeks of pregnancy you should also be prepared for a vaginal check to see how your cervix is preparing for labor.

These days, most patients have at least two ultrasounds during the pregnancy. You'll have the first one around 10 weeks – it helps confirm the pregnancy and ensures the baby has a heartbeat. A later ultrasound – often around 20 weeks – helps determine the location of the placenta, how the baby is growing and can usually determine the gender of the baby if the parents wish to find that out.

Between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy, be prepared to take a glucose screening test to check for gestational diabetes. Plan to be at your practitioner's office for at least two to three hours. After drinking a sugary tasting beverage that contains glucose, you'll have to wait about an hour before having blood drawn. Your blood will then be checked to see how your body is processing sugar. If the reading is too high, you'll have to return to your doctor's office for a three-hour "tolerance" test to see if you really do have gestational diabetes, Dr. Jackson says.

An optional second-trimester test that is recommended for women over the age of 35, or who have a family history of Down syndrome, is the AFP or triple screen test. It checks for neural defects, placental complications and can also indicate Down syndrome, among other potential problems. Often a woman with questionable AFP levels is advised to have an amniocentesis to confirm any defects. Many expectant moms who aren't high risk opt out of the procedure because it has the potential to produce "false positives" and unnecessary worries during the pregnancy.

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