Congratulations on Becoming Pregnant!
Your first appointment should be scheduled around the time that you would be missing your second period. At this visit, you will have a complete physical exam and consultation regarding your pregnancy.
The average pregnancy will take 40 weeks. Routine office visits will be every four weeks until the seventh month of pregnancy. After that, you will have a three-week visit, and then you will be seen every two weeks in the eighth month. Finally, you will have weekly visits during your ninth month until you deliver. On average, expect to be seen 12-15 times. Questions will be answered at each visit. It may be helpful to keep an ongoing list of questions and bring it to your appointments.
An ultrasound is usually performed between 18-20 weeks. If you would like to keep a copy of your ultrasound, you may bring in a blank VHS tape and we will record it for you.
At 20 weeks, we will also give you a bottle of sugar water to drink before your next visit to test for diabetes.
Once you enter the third trimester (about 26 weeks) you should start to look for a pediatrician to take care of your baby. Many pediatricians will meet with you before the baby is born to give you information about their practice. We will provide you a list of pediatricians that we recommend but you are free to use whomever you like. A list of these pediatricians is available for you to download by clicking on pediatrician list.
After your initial pelvic exam at the first visit, your remaining visits will consist of tummy checks until 38-39 weeks. After this point, we will do weekly pelvic exams to check for cervical changes.
Once labor begins or your bag of water breaks, the doctor on call will be responsible for delivering your baby.
We look forward to a healthy and successful pregnancy.
Again, congratulations!