Pregnancy (cont.)
Changes in Your Baby
By the end of the first trimester, your baby is about three
inches long and weighs about half an ounce. The eyes move closer together
into their positions, and the ears also are in position. The liver is making
bile, and the kidneys
are secreting urine into the bladder. Even though you
can't feel your baby move yet, your baby will move inside you in response to
pushing on your abdomen.
Doctors Visits
During the early months of pregnancy, regular doctor visits (prenatal care)
are especially important. Become a partner with your doctor to manage your care.
Keep all of your appointments-every one is important!
During the first prenatal visit, you can expect your
doctor or nurse to do
the following:
- ask about your health history
including diseases, operations, or prior pregnancies
- ask about your family's health history
- do a complete physical exam
- do a pelvic exam with a Pap test
- order lab tests
- check your blood pressure,
urine, and weight
- figure out your expected due date
- answer your questions
1st Trimester Tests and Procedures
For special genetic or medical reasons, you may need other lab tests, like
blood or urine tests, cultures for infections, or ultrasound exams in the first
trimester. Your doctor will discuss them with you during your visits.
The most common tests recommended in the first trimester include:
Nuchal Translucency Screening (NTS)
This new type of
screening can be done between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy. It uses an
ultrasound and blood test to calculate the risk of some birth defects. Doctors
use the ultrasound exam to check the thickness of the back of the fetus' neck. They also test your blood
for levels of a protein called pregnancy-associated plasma protein and a hormone
called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Doctors use this information to tell
if the fetus has a normal or greater than normal chance of having some birth
defects.
In an important recent study, NTS found 87% of cases of Down syndrome when done
at 11 weeks of pregnancy. When NTS was followed by another blood test done in
the second trimester (maternal serum screening test), 95% of fetuses with Down
syndrome were identified.
Like all screening tests, the results are sometimes misleading. In 5% of
women who have NTS, results show that their babies have a high risk of having a
birth defect when they are actually healthy. This is called a false positive. To
find out for sure if the fetus has a birth defect, NTS must be followed by a
diagnostic test like chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis.
NTS is not yet widely used. If you are interested in NTS, talk to your
doctor. If she is unable to do the test, she can refer you to someone who can.
You should also call your insurance company to find out if they cover the cost
of this procedure. NTS allows women to find out early if there are potential
health problems with the fetus. This may help them decide whether to have
follow-up tests.
Chorionic Villus Sampling
(CVS)
CVS
is performed between 10 and
12 weeks of pregnancy. In CVS, the doctor inserts a needle through the abdomen
or inserts a catheter through the cervix to reach the placenta. The doctor then
takes a sample of cells from the placenta. Experts use this sample to look for
problems with the baby's chromosomes. This test cannot find out whether your
baby has open neural tube defects. About 1 in 200 women have a miscarriage as a
result of this test.
Next: The 2nd Trimester Stage of Pregnancy »
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