What month of pregnancy?

Pregnancy requires special medical follow -up, throughout the 9 months. Between blood tests, ultrasounds and other exams … pregnancy is not easy. You have 7 compulsory prenatal consultations Designed to check your health and the good development of the future baby. They can be carried out by your gynecologist, a midwife or a general practitioner and are entirely reimbursed by Social Security. Concretely, your doctor will follow you every month, from the 4th month of pregnancy. So here is what awaits you:

When ? There First compulsory prenatal visit must take place Before the end of the first trimesterbut the sooner will be best. It is therefore possible from the 3rd week of pregnancy. The first consultation is obviously important since your doctor will determine the date of the start of your pregnancy and that of your delivery during your First dating ultrasound. Made between 7 and 12 weeks of amenorrhea, it also allows you to know the number of fetuses, to verify the good development of the baby, its vitality, its heart rate. And to detect certain anomalies. You will also review the organization of monitoring your pregnancy, the exams to program, the dates of the different ultrasounds … It will also give you some hygiene advice (tobacco, alcohol, food, etc.). are all the more important as the first three months of pregnancy correspond to the formation of the vital organs of the future baby. On your side, do not hesitate to tell him about your questions, but also your working conditions and your personal or family history (hereditary diseases, abortion or miscarriage, any allergies, without forgetting the current treatments, etc.). Finally, remember that it is at the end of your first prenatal consultation that your gynecologist will give you a declaration form of pregnancy to send to CAF and health insurance.

When ? During the 4th month of pregnancy (around the 15th week of pregnancy) You will have an appointment with your doctor or gynecologist for the second compulsory prenatal consultation. During this prenatal visit, if you have not yet made the screening for Down’s syndrome before the end of the third trimester of pregnancy, it may be offered (with your agreement). Finally, your gynecologist will take stock of the good baby’s development and the progress of your pregnancy by performing various examinations (weight, tension, blood and urine analyzes, vaginal exam …). The opportunity also to check your immunity against toxoplasmosis and rubella. Finally, even if the second ultrasound takes place the following month, you can still hear the heartbeat of your newborn.

The fifth month of pregnancy is often awaited impatiently by future parents, since that is when the Second ultrasound. Between your 19th week and 24th week of pregnancy, you will therefore check the good development of a baby, and you will also be able to know your sex, if you wish! So, girl or boy? This ultrasound is probably the most moving for couples: you can clearly see your baby! Her hands that are agitated, her soil fingers already well formed, her pretty little profile … This so -called morphological ultrasound is also longer because she aims to measure baby from all angles, from her brain to her abdomen through her little feet! The opportunity to carry out a complete health assessment: operation of the organs, measurement of members, analysis of amniotic fluid and placenta (verification that blood circulates well between you and your baby).

The 4th compulsory prenatal visit takes place during your 25th week of pregnancy. During this examination, your gynecologist or your midwife will particularly look at your tension in order to prevent any risk of pre-eclampsia during pregnancy. An examination It is also recommended to carry out a oral examination from the 4th month of pregnancy.

The examinations are practically the same as for previous compulsory prenatal consultations. This month, your midwife will also tell you about childbirth preparation sessions and will approach the contractions to help you better locate them. At this stage of pregnancy, your baby moves a lot. Also, do not hesitate to consult your doctor if you have a doubt or a question. During this compulsory prenatal visit, your midwife will prescribe your last ultrasound, which will take place during the 8th month of pregnancy.

Last control before the big day! The baby has grown well and it is no longer possible to see it entirely on the screen. Objective of this last ultrasound : check that the baby is fine, examine his growth, movements, breathing again … and observe if he presents himself well for childbirth, see his position and weight … Do not hesitate to ask your midwife some tips to better live your pregnancy, feel less tired or relieve your back pain for example.

The last month of pregnancy, the gynecologist or the midwife is interested in particular in the position of the head of the baby and in the likely conditions of delivery: width of the basin, flexibility of the tissues, volume of the child … In case of apparent difficulties, examinations are sometimes necessary (radiography of the pelvis, ultrasound).

If you don’t like the bites, you will have to get used to it. Because almost every month, it’s the same topo: you have to go through the laboratory to take a blood test. It is at the beginning of pregnancy, from the 3rd or 4th week, that the list of exams will be the longest:

• Search for the blood group. It is a question of recognizing women whose rhesus is negative. Indeed, if the spouse is on the contrary rhesus positive, then the baby can also be rhesus positive. The mother can then make anti-Rhesus antibodies positive dangerous for the child.
• Virus search : hepatitis B, syphilis, AIDS …
• Verification of your immunity Against certain pathologies: rubella, toxoplasmosis …
• Other exams Can be requested by the doctor: screening for a possible iron deficiency generally from the 6th month of pregnancy, as well as iron food supplements. Ferric deficiencies are frequent during pregnancy because the iron needs of the pregnant woman increase also to feed her baby. In the event of an insufficient iron levels, we then speak of anemia, a condition which affects the transport of oxygen to the organs. To warn it, your doctor is likely to prescribe iron food supplements from the 2nd trimester of pregnancy. Know that they are not always well tolerated, which can thus generate diarrhea or constipation. If this is the case, it is better to reduce the dose under medical control.

Each month, urinary tests make it possible to detect the presence of sugar and albumin in the urine. Sugar in the urine does not necessarily imply diabetes, but can be the sign of a baby too large so more fragile. In these cases, a simple diet allows you to restore your sugar level. As for albumin, it must also be monitored closely, especially if it is accompanied by hypertension and edema. A total rest is then essential. Indeed, if the tension is too high, it may slow down the development of the fetus.

Detect any urinary tract infections. During the maternity consultations, the doctor or the midwife gives you a urinary strip. In addition to looking for the presence of sugar or albumin in the urine, it also makes it possible to detect urinary tract infections. If in doubt, you must then do a urine analysis (ECBU) in the laboratory. This examination makes it possible to precisely identify the germ and prescribe an antibiotic adapted to the bacteria responsible for the infection.

During the various visits, your doctor will analyze the results of the prescribed biological examinations. And above all it will be an opportunity to verify that pregnancy is going well:

• Monitoring of weight gain which is around 1 kg to 1.5 kg per month. Be aware, however, that all women and pregnancies are different. So it is not uncommon not to gain weight the first 3 months, then to grow suddenly in the middle of pregnancy.
• Blood pressure intake. Hypertension indeed requires monitoring.
• Palpation of the abdomen. The doctor can locate the baby’s location, quantify the amniotic fluid and listen to the baby’s heart beat. From the 6th month of pregnancy, he even locates his head and the parts of his body.
• Measurement of the uterine height (length between the top of the pubis and the bottom of the uterus) using a simple meter of seamstress. Its value makes it possible to appreciate fetal growth, but also that of the uterus, the amniotic fluid and the placenta.
• Gynecological examination: as during your gynecological exams before your pregnancy, the doctor will observe, using a speculum, your vagina and your uterus. The objective is to ensure that the cervix is made to change the cervix which could cause fear of premature delivery.