Follow Us x
EARLY PREGNANCY
Prenatal care in your first trimester is an important part to establishing a healthy pregnancy. If there is lack of or delay in menses, or if you have a positive home pregnancy test, please contact our office. We will send you to the lab for a blood pregnancy level. If the blood pregnancy level is positive, you will have at least 2 more blood pregnancy levels drawn spaced about 48 hours apart. Ideally, these levels should "double" approximately every 48 hours. These levels are also used as an early indicator for a possible ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, which is a serious problem when it occurs.
If you have not already done so, a prenatal panel will be drawn (see prenatal profile under preconceptual testing). An important part of this testing is to test for Rh negative blood. If you have a Rh negative blood type and your baby has Rh positive blood type, you may form antibodies that fight the baby's blood. Rh disease in the baby can cause serious health problems. Fortunately, there is a treatment to prevent Rh disease called RhoGam, which helps prevent Rh antibodies from forming.
After confirmation of pregnancy, you should continue taking prenatal vitamins and additional 1mg folic acid each day, and some early pregnancy support medications are initiated - usually low-dose aspirin and progesterone supplementation, though individual clinical situations may alter this standard,, and you should discuss with provider prior to initiating additional supplementation medications. Certain types of progesterone should be avoided if you have a Peanut Allergy. In most circumstances, patients will continue the aspirin, folic acid, and progesterone until the start of the 12th week of pregnancy.
