Essential Prenatal Testing for Moms to Be

Any doctor will quickly tell you that prenatal testing is essential to having a healthy baby. At each stage or trimester of your pregnancy your doctor will perform a different series of test on both you and the baby. In most cases your doctor will perform these tests automatically. There are some occasions where you may have to request a certain test. There are risks which are associated with some of the tests. Be sure to talk to your doctor about these risks prior to testing. Let's begin by taking a look at the tests that are done during the first trimester of pregnancy.

The first thing that a doctor will test for after confirming your pregnancy is your blood type. Next they will check your blood to see if you are anemic. This is a very important test, since being anemic can drastically sap your energy during pregnancy and possibly harm the baby if not addressed. Your doctor will also screen you for Hepatitis B, and test you for any STD's. The purpose of these tests is pretty obvious. They want to make sure that you are not a carrier of anything that can be passed on to the baby. Or that may complicate your pregnancy and delivery. During your first visit your doctor will also need to give you a pap test and test your urine for protein and sugar levels. The Pap test is to check and see if you have any cells which may be cancerous. Your first prenatal appointment will be a long one. The tests that are listed above are essential to make sure that you have a safe pregnancy. If something is found early in your pregnancy, like anemia than they can prescribe you iron tablets, in addition to your prenatal vitamins. This will help with the condition and it will not cause any harm to your baby.