Medical Training for Health

During pregnancy, medical tests may be done as part of routine prenatal care. These tests allow your doctor to monitor your health and your baby.

First prenatal visit

During the first prenatal visit, doctor will order blood tests and urine tests to identify:

Conditions that could be harmful to the health of the baby (eg, hepatitis B, syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections). The doctor will ask if you want a test for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Antibodies that show whether or not immune to rubella (German measles) and chickenpox, which can cause birth defects if the mother is infected for the first time during pregnancy:

Anemia (low red blood cell count), which could make you feel particularly tired, and in some cases, increase their risk of premature delivery.

Your blood group, including the Rh factor of red blood cells. A Women who do not have the Rh factor are called Rh negative and usually need to undergo a treatment to protect their babies from a potentially dangerous problem in blood

Bacteria in the urine. Up to 10 percent of pregnant women have bacteria in their urine, which indicates a urinary tract infection. Most have no symptoms, but even asymptomatic infection can spread and reach the kidneys, which can pose a serious risk to mother and baby. The urinary tract infections treated with antibiotics that are safe for both mother and baby

Sugar in the urine. This may be a sign of diabetes. Your doctor will ask you perform additional testing if it detects sugar in the urine

Protein in the urine. This may indicate a urinary tract infection or, at a later stage of pregnancy, a pregnancy-related conditions including high blood pressure. Your doctor will ask you perform additional testing if it detects protein in urine

All these tests are routine but are important to protect your health and the health of your baby. It is likely that your doctor tells a urine test at each prenatal visit and a blood test for anemia at least once more during your pregnancy

It is also possible that your doctor will ask you perform a test for cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease that can severely affect breathing and digestion. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis. Children who inherit an abnormal gene from each parent develop the disease. The College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of the United States (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ACOG) recommends that all couples who are planning to have a baby and pregnant women get tested for cystic fibrosis. The decision is up to you

At each prenatal visit, your doctor can control the amount of protein in the urine and will measure your blood pressure. The presence of protein in the urine and high blood pressure are symptoms of a pregnancy-related condition called preeclampsia, characterized by high blood pressure.

Preeclampsia affects approximately 5 to 8 percent of pregnant women and, if untreated, can cause serious problems, including poor fetal growth. In rare cases can progress to eclampsia, a condition capable of endangering life whose symptoms include seizures and, in some cases leads to coma. With early diagnosis and treatment, it is likely that preeclampsia does not pose a serious risk to the baby, which is another reason why it is important to attend all antenatal appointments with your doctor.

In addition, each visit a doctor hear the heartbeat of your baby use a manual device called a Doppler. After about 20 weeks, also will check the abdomen to control the growth of your baby. If heartbeat and the baby’s growth rate is normal, is an important signal that is being developed accordingly.

Ultrasound

Many doctors recommend that pregnant women have an ultrasound. Ultrasound is a technique that uses sound waves to see images of the baby on a screen. The doctor rubs a hand-held device (called a transducer) on the abdomen of a pregnant woman or a device inserted into her vagina. Women feel pressure as it moves the transducer but generally the procedure is not painful.

Special prenatal testing

Some women are asked to perform special tests such as amniocentesis, because they or their babies have a higher risk of developing problems.

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