Congrats! You’re pregnant… now what? Throughout your pregnancy, you’ll have prenatal appointments with your medical provider starting in the first trimester until you give birth. These appointments will increase in frequency as you get closer to your due date–but depending on where you give birth, you may find that your appointments are very short, and you feel rushed to get vital information from your provider.
Some of us are hoping our providers will tell us EVERYTHING about pregnancy and childbirth–and if you have an out-of-hospital or community birth provider, there may be plenty of time to have long, in-depth appointments.
But, for the majority of us in the United States, your appointments in a hospital-based clinic will likely be less than 15 minutes–so you are short on time to get as much important information from your provider!
In this blog, we will discuss some important questions to ask your provider at your prenatal appointment to optimize the limited time you may have with them! Most of the time, your provider cannot teach you childbirth education at your prenatal appointments.
It can help you to know what options you want to utilize to create your birth plan. This plan can be a conversation starter to go over all the things you want.
Sign up for our newsletter to grab our FREE fillable birth planning template so you can understand what options may be available to you at your birth location.
Luckily there are a lot of great options out there to learn about the general concepts of childbirth education (such as labor positions, the labor timeline, comfort measures, and more). And even free resources on social media!
Listen to the MamasteFit Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and YouTube! New episodes are released every Wednesday and birth stories every Friday.
You can join our online childbirth education course to learn all about the science of birth to prepare for what to expect–and then you can focus your prenatal appointments on the specifics of your individualized medical care and birth location-specific policies!
Prenatal Appointments: What to Expect
Your prenatal appointments will start in the first trimester between 6-12 weeks, depending on when you find out you are pregnant and your clinics availability. Your appointments will happen at a certain interval, depending on where you are in your pregnancy, increasing as you get closer and closer to your due date.
- Week 4-28: Appointments are every 4 weeks;
- Week 28-36: Appointments are every 2 weeks;
- Week 36-Delivery: Appointments every week.
Your appointment frequency can increase if there is a complication present in the pregnancy for either you or your baby.
What is commonly done during appointments?
- Physical exam of you
- Vital signs to include blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and weight (some clinics are no longer doing weight checks)
- Urine collection
- Labs
- Initial labs (blood type, complete blood count, STI panel (Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis) Hepatitis B, Rubella & Varicella immunity)
- Genetic testing if chosen
- Gestational Diabetes Screening (24-28 weeks)
- GBS swab (36ish weeks)
- Ultrasound (first appointment as a dating ultrasound and ~20-week anatomy scan)
- Listening to your baby’s heart rate
- Measure the fundal height (measure your belly size from pubic bone to top of the uterus) starting at 20 weeks
- Offer vaccinations for Flu, Covid, and Tdap if you want them.
How to Prepare?
- Know your Last Menstrual Period or Ovulation/Conception Date
- Any pre-existing medical conditions
- List of current medications to include any supplements (ex: collagen protein) or over-the-counter medications (ex: Tylenol)
- Prior Pregnancy history
- Questions about care
Expectations for Your Prenatal Appointments
We should expect two main things from our prenatal appointments:
- Individualized Care for your specific pregnancy and needs:
- What is unique about YOU and YOUR BABY that may influence your care and pregnancy/birth options?
- This is specific to your medical history and what is going on in your current pregnancy.
- Clinic and Hospital-Specific Care Options and Policies
- What specific policies and plan of care does your clinic and hospital have that may influence your pregnancy and birth?
- Each birth location has different policies and approaches to care, so understanding your specific birth locations’ unique policies can be helpful for your birth planning (and if you want to switch providers).
When delivering in a community-based location, your appointment will usually be longer, and you will have more time for education and questions, but in a hospital-based clinic, you are limited to shorter appointment times and need to make use of the time wisely.
Some Questions to Ask at Your Prenatal Appointments
- Prenatal Testing/Procedures done
- What are the labs you do at the initial appointment and why?
- What type of genetic testing do you routinely offer? Benefit versus risk?
- When will the anatomy scan be offered/scheduled for?
- When will you recommend the Gestational Diabetes screening? Do you offer alternatives to the glucola test? What are they?
- Can I collect my own GBS swab?
- If I am past my due date, what testing do you recommend?
- Birth Options
- What is your routine length of delayed cord clamping? Skin to skin after birth?
- What Newborn medications are offered? What if I would like to decline any? Risk versus Benefits?
- What labor comfort options are available? Shower, tub, birth ball, etc. Is there a time I will not be able to utilize them?
- IV Placement during labor? Can I decline it all together or get it saline-locked?
- Pain Relief Options
- Does Anesthesia cover the whole hospital, only on labor and delivery, located in the hospital at all times or at home?
- Length of time it takes to get an epidural placed typically.
- What IV Pain medication is used in your hospital?
- Do you have Nitrous Oxide in your hospital?
- Monitoring Options during labor
- Intermittent versus Continuous Monitoring options
- Waterproof monitors
- Portable/Wireless monitors
- Postpartum Care/Expectations
- How long will I have to stay in the hospital after birth?
- What is typically done in postpartum?
- Is there a lactation consultant available in the hospital?
- Birth Certificate information.
- Referrals to Pelvic Floor PT or Mental Health referrals
These are just SOME of the questions that can be beneficial to ask during appointments, but it is really all individualized to your situation!
Benefits of Childbirth Education Classes
While you may not be able to expect your provider to give you an entire childbirth education course in your 15 minute prenatal appointments, you can still learn about what to expect with a childbirth education course! Your hospital may offer a childbirth education course, or you can take an independent childbirth education course, such as our online childbirth education course!
The benefit of taking a childbirth education course is not only will it teach you about labor positions, comfort measures, and what to expect during labor–but it will also teach you about your OPTIONS! When you know what options are available, you can explore your preferences and optimize your time at your prenatal appointments by asking specific questions about birth options you have questions about. These questions could include:
- Does my birth location offer this option?
- If they offer the option, how can I request it? How readily available is this option?
- If not, what other options are available for me?
You can still optimize the time with your provider even if your appointments are on the shorter side! Focus your questions on things specific to you as an individual that a general childbirth education course or social media post could not answer–this can be specific to your medical history, current pregnancy, or even just things that are important to you as an individual. Then you can ask questions that are specific to your birth location–how does this clinic practice that may influence what options I have for my pregnancy and birth?
There are so many resources out there for you to support you throughout your pregnancy, birth, and beyond! Your provider is a helpful resource, but they do not need to be your ONLY resource!
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