prenatal visit at 16 weeks

Loading, just a moment...

> Prenatal Visit Schedule: What To Expect During Each Appointment

Prenatal Visit Schedule: What To Expect During Each Appointment

Prenatal care is an important part of a healthy pregnancy and allows your doctor to regularly monitor you and your baby . But what should you expect when it comes to your prenatal visit schedule?

Basically, you’ll visit your doctor once a month at the beginning of your pregnancy and then once a week at the end of your pregnancy. That said, it’s important to schedule your first prenatal visit as soon as you see a positive pregnancy test!

In this article, the experts at Mustela discuss how your prenatal visit schedule will most likely look and what to expect during each appointment.

Prenatal Visit Schedule: First Trimester

Expecting mom ready to schedule prenatal visit

This is such an exciting time in your life! When you saw the positive pregnancy test , you were probably four to six weeks pregnant, so go ahead and call your doctor to schedule your first appointment.

During the first trimester , you will have your initial prenatal visit, and then your doctor will schedule your visits every four weeks or once a month.

Check with the doctor or staff for a printout of your prenatal visit schedule.

What To Expect At Your First Appointment

Your first prenatal visit will be around six to nine weeks and will most likely be the lengthiest of all your appointments, so block out a good bit of time on your calendar.

Your doctor will ask a good bit of detailed questions and perform a pretty thorough check. Let’s take a look at what they’ll do during this appointment.

Medical History

Your doctor will ask questions about your:

Last menstrual cycle so they can give you a due date
Gynecological history
Obstetrical history (any past pregnancies)
Personal and family medical history
Supplements or medicines you’re taking (if any)
Lifestyle (use of tobacco products, alcohol, and caffeine; eating and exercising habits)
Recent travel adventures
Feelings of depression or anxiety (if any)

Your doctor will order various lab work to check your blood for:

Blood type and Rh status
Hemoglobin levels
Infections such as hepatitis B, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HIV
Thyroid levels
Any other important screenings

Physical Exam

To give you and your baby the best care, your doctor will need to do a thorough physical exam, which most likely will also include a Pap smear to detect any abnormal cervical cells.

Your doctor’s observation also includes:

Checking your blood pressure
Measuring your height and weight to determine your recommended weight gain for a healthy pregnancy
A breast exam
A pelvic exam
Screening your heart, lungs, and thyroid

Discuss any pregnancy discomforts , such as nausea and fatigue, with your doctor. Be honest with your doctor so they can take care of you and your baby to the best of their knowledge.

Some doctors also do an ultrasound during the first trimester to confirm or date your pregnancy. (Your first prenatal visit will vary based on the specific policies of your doctor’s office.)

What To Expect At Your 12-Week Appointment

You're nearing the end of your first trimester! During this appointment, you can expect your doctor to check the following:

Weight and blood pressure
Urine for sugar and protein levels
Your baby’s heartbeat (This will be the first time you’ll hear it!)
Size of your uterus
Hands and feet for any swelling

Prenatal Visit Schedule: Second Trimester

pregnant woman having her belly measured

Assuming you have a healthy pregnancy and no further examinations are necessary, this is what your prenatal visit schedule will look like during your second trimester :

Four-month appointment (around 16 weeks)
Five-month appointment (around 20 weeks)
Six-month appointment (around 24 weeks)

What To Expect During Routine Appointments

Many of your appointments from here on out will look similar regarding what your doctor will check for. During these visits, you can expect your doctor to look at:

Your baby’s heartbeat
Your fundal height (The size of your uterus is used to assess fetal growth and development. Your doctor will get this measurement by measuring the length from the top of your uterus to the top of your pubic bone. This measurement should match how many weeks you are. Example: If you’re 20 weeks pregnant, your fundal height should equal 20 centimeters.)
Hands and feet for swelling
Any symptoms you’ve been experiencing

At this point in your pregnancy, you may notice your skin becoming dry and starting to stretch a bit. Don’t worry; it’s completely normal!

To tackle dry skin, try Mustela’s Stretch Marks Cream . This velvety, hard-working cream delivers immediate moisture and comfort to your skin!

And our Stretch Marks Oil treats recently formed stretch marks. It’s a fast-absorbing oil that hydrates your skin throughout your pregnancy!

What To Expect During Your 20-Week Sonogram:

Sometime around your 20-week appointment, your doctor will schedule an ultrasound to determine the gender of your baby! During this sonogram, your sonographer will take a look at:

Baby’s size and all their major organs
Amniotic fluid
Location of placenta

Your sonographer passes this information to your doctor to give them a clear picture (literally!) of the overall health of your baby and your pregnancy.

Prenatal Visit Schedule: Third Trimester

woman following her prenatal visit schedule

During your third trimester , your prenatal visits will be every two weeks until the last month of your pregnancy, when you’ll have them every week. So that means your prenatal visit schedule will look like this:

What To Expect At Your Seventh- and Eighth-Month Visits

During your seventh and eighth months of pregnancy, expect your doctor to check the following:

Urine for sugar and protein
Your fundal height (top of your uterus)
Size and position of your baby
Feet and hands for swelling
Varicose veins in your legs
Glucose screen test (read below for more information)
Group B strep test (read below for more information)
Blood test for anemia
Any symptoms you’ve been having

Glucose Screen Test

This test is used to determine if you have gestational diabetes. Once you arrive at your doctor’s office, be prepared to have your blood drawn first.

Next, you’ll drink a very sugary drink that tastes like flat orange soda. Some women enjoy the taste, while others feel a little queasy afterward!

After you consume the entire drink, you’ll wait one hour before having your blood drawn again. If your blood work comes back with elevated numbers, your doctor will order the next level of tests, which is used to officially diagnose gestational diabetes.

Should you need to take the second test (no studying required!), you’ll have to fast before the appointment. Just like with the initial round of tests, your doctor will draw your blood first and then have you consume the drink.

The only difference is this time, your blood will be drawn every hour for three hours. Be prepared to stay in your doctor’s office for three to four hours.

If the results from this test also come back elevated, your doctor will discuss management techniques for gestational diabetes.

But don’t let this information worry you. Most women who monitor their blood sugar levels and work closely with their doctor have perfectly normal pregnancies and healthy babies!

woman waiting for her next prenatal visit

Group B Strep Test

Group B Strep (GBS) is bacteria that can be found in the vaginas of healthy women. (It’s not related to strep, the throat infection.)

If you are a carrier of GBS, your baby can catch the infection during delivery when they pass through the birth canal. While this bacteria isn’t harmful to you, it can be dangerous for your baby.

To check for GBS, your doctor will perform a test just like they would a Pap smear. If the test shows that you’re a carrier, you’ll receive antibiotics through an IV once you’re in labor. This way, you won’t pass the infection to your baby!

You’re routinely tested for GBS around the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy so your doctors can be prepared to give you the antibiotics at the onset of labor.

What To Expect During Your Ninth Month

Similar to months seven and eight, your doctor will closely monitor you and your baby during this time. Since you’re getting closer to your due date, expect a few additional observations from your doctor.

During your last month of pregnancy, they will take a look at:

Your cervix by an internal examination to check for effacement (thinning) and dilation (opening)
Baby’s heartbeat
Baby’s size (At this point in your pregnancy, your doctor may give you an estimation of your baby’s weight. They can tell your baby’s presentation: head or bottom first, and their position: front- or rear-facing.)
Any questions or concerns you may have about delivery

A Beautiful Pregnancy And Beautiful Skin

Pregnant woman contemplating her prenatal visit schedule

Throughout these nine months , your prenatal visits are special moments of checking on your sweet little baby. It’s exciting to see your belly grow with each visit! But that also means possible stretch marks.

The good news is that Mustela offers a line of prenatal products, including our Stretch Marks Cream and Bust Firming Serum , to soothe and hydrate your skin while you manage the busyness of your prenatal visit schedule.

Let Mustela help you start your beautiful pregnancy with beautiful skin!

6 Tips For Finding The Best Maternity Clothes

7 Breastfeeding Myths & Realities

The Best Postpartum Care Plan For New Mothers

Get tips, news and exclusive offers

Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
Press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection.

Appointments at Mayo Clinic

Pregnancy week by week

Prenatal care: 2nd trimester visits

During the second trimester, prenatal care includes routine lab tests and measurements of your baby's growth. You might consider prenatal testing, too.

The goal of prenatal care is to ensure that you and your baby remain healthy during your entire pregnancy. Ideally, prenatal care starts as soon as you think you're pregnant. Your health care provider might schedule prenatal care appointments about every four weeks throughout the second trimester.

Here's what to expect at your second trimester prenatal appointments.

Review the basics

Your health care provider will check your blood pressure and weight at every visit. Share any concerns you have. Then it's time for your baby to take center stage. Your health care provider might:

Track your baby's growth. By measuring the distance from the pubic bone to the top of your uterus (fundal height), your health care provider can gauge your baby's growth. After 20 weeks of pregnancy, this measurement in centimeters often matches the number of weeks you've been pregnant, plus or minus 2 centimeters.
Listen to your baby's heartbeat. At second trimester visits, you might hear your baby's heartbeat using a Doppler instrument. The Doppler instrument detects motion and conveys it as sound.
Assess fetal movement. Tell your health care provider when you begin noticing flutters or kicks. Keep in mind that mothers notice these movements at different times, and movement at this time in pregnancy is typically unpredictable. You'll likely notice flutters for the first time around 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Also, talk to your health care provider about any vaccinations you might need.

Consider prenatal testing

During the second trimester, you might be offered various prenatal screenings or tests:

Genetic tests. Blood tests might be offered to screen for genetic or chromosomal conditions, such as spina bifida or Down syndrome. If your results are concerning, your doctor will recommend a diagnostic test, typically an amniocentesis. During amniocentesis, a sample of the fluid that surrounds and protects a baby during pregnancy is removed from the uterus for testing.
Fetal ultrasound. Fetal ultrasound is an imaging technique that uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of a baby in the uterus. A detailed ultrasound can help your health care provider evaluate fetal anatomy. Fetal ultrasound also might give you an opportunity to find out the baby's sex.
Blood tests. Blood tests might be offered between week 24 to 28 of pregnancy to check your blood count and iron levels and screen for diabetes that can develop during pregnancy (gestational diabetes). If you have Rh negative blood — an inherited trait that refers to a specific protein found on the surface of red blood cells — you might need a blood test to check for Rh antibodies. These antibodies can develop if your baby has Rh positive blood and your Rh negative blood mixes with your baby's blood. Without treatment, the antibodies could cross the placenta and attack the baby's red blood cells — particularly in a subsequent pregnancy with a baby who has Rh positive blood.

Keep your health care provider informed

The second trimester often brings a renewed sense of well-being. Morning sickness typically begins to ease. You begin to feel the baby move. Your belly becomes more noticeable. There's a lot happening.

Tell your health care provider what's on your mind, even if it seems silly or unimportant. Nothing is too trivial when it comes to your health — or your baby's health.

Lockwood CJ, et al. Prenatal care: Initial assessment. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed July 9, 2018.
Prenatal care and tests. Office on Women's Health. http://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/you-are-pregnant/prenatal-care-tests.html. Accessed July 9, 2018.
Cunningham FG, et al., eds. Prenatal care. In: Williams Obstetrics. 25th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Education; 2018. https:// accessmedicine.mhmedical.com. Accessed July 9, 2018.
Lockwood CJ, et al. Prenatal care: Second and third trimesters. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed July 9, 2018.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Practice Bulletins — Obstetrics. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 101: Ultrasonography in pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2009;113:451. Reaffirmed 2014.

Products and Services

A Book: Obstetricks
A Book: Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
Second trimester pregnancy
Fetal development 2nd trimester
Fundal height and fetal growth
Pregnancy due date calculator

Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.

Opportunities

Mayo Clinic Press

Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic Press .

Mayo Clinic on Incontinence - Mayo Clinic Press Mayo Clinic on Incontinence
The Essential Diabetes Book - Mayo Clinic Press The Essential Diabetes Book
Mayo Clinic on Hearing and Balance - Mayo Clinic Press Mayo Clinic on Hearing and Balance
FREE Mayo Clinic Diet Assessment - Mayo Clinic Press FREE Mayo Clinic Diet Assessment
Mayo Clinic Health Letter - FREE book - Mayo Clinic Press Mayo Clinic Health Letter - FREE book
Healthy Lifestyle
Prenatal care 2nd trimester visits

Make twice the impact

Your gift can go twice as far to advance cancer research and care!

Trying to Conceive
Signs & Symptoms
Pregnancy Tests
Fertility Testing
Fertility Treatment
Weeks & Trimesters
Staying Healthy
Preparing for Baby
Complications & Concerns
Pregnancy Loss
Breastfeeding
School-Aged Kids
Raising Kids
Personal Stories
Everyday Wellness
Safety & First Aid
Immunizations
Food & Nutrition
Active Play
Pregnancy Products
Nursery & Sleep Products
Nursing & Feeding Products
Clothing & Accessories
Toys & Gifts
Ovulation Calculator
Pregnancy Due Date Calculator
How to Talk About Postpartum Depression
Editorial Process
Meet Our Review Board

What to Expect From Your Prenatal Care Appointments

Verywell / Michela Buttignol

Your First Appointment
Your Second Appointment
14-16 Weeks
18-22 Weeks
22-26 Weeks
28-36 Weeks
36-40 Weeks
40-42 Weeks

The test is positive, morning sickness has kicked in, and your pregnancy journey has just begun! Finding out you're expecting brings so many emotions, from giddiness and excitement to nervousness and hesitation. There's also one burning question that pops up, especially if this is your first pregnancy: What happens next?

Along with nine months of bodily changes, baby kicks, and bouts of heartburn come the super important (and super frequent) prenatal care appointments. Your OB/GYN's office might feel like a second home by the end of your pregnancy, but it's for a good reason!

Each stage of pregnancy comes with its own milestones, challenges, and safety precautions. Every prenatal appointment along the way ensures you and your baby stay on track and healthy. Here, we will break down what to expect at each round of prenatal appointments, including what your healthcare provider is looking for, what precautions you need to take, and which tests may be recommended.

Your First Prenatal Care Appointment

This is a big one! Your first prenatal care appointment is certainly the most exciting, and its timing can vary based on the practice. You should call your provider as soon as you find out you are pregnant to determine the best time to come in, which is typically between 6 and 10 weeks.

Andrea Chisholm, MD, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist with over 20 years of clinical experience, explains that during your first appointment, your OB/GYN will discuss your medical history (including your partner and family history) and give you a physical exam. You will also undergo a number of routine prenatal lab tests, where they will screen for infectious diseases (such as HIV, hep B/C, and syphilis), STIs, and immunity to rubella and chickenpox.

During your first visit, you may or may not get an ultrasound depending on your provider or risk factors determined from your medical history. Your provider will check your blood pressure, may perform a pap smear or pelvic exam, and discuss a prenatal game plan for the coming months, including a potential due date , which prenatal vitamins to take, and any necessary lifestyle and dietary changes.

"This is [also] the appointment where your OB provider will decide if any additional early testing or intervention is needed," says Dr. Chisholm.

Your Second Prenatal Care Appointment

From weeks 4 to 28 of pregnancy, you will visit your OB/GYN once a month, so your second visit will be four weeks from your initial visit.

Dr. Chisholm explains that if your initial prenatal visit was prior to 10 weeks, then your OB/GYN will listen for fetal heart tones during the second visit. They will continue to check the baby's heartbeat at every appointment after 10 weeks. (Arguably the best part of every visit!)

There may be more discussion about genetic testing at this appointment and your urine may be screened to watch for infection. Your weight and blood pressure will be checked, which is something you can come to expect from every prenatal appointment moving forward.

14 to 16 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

Welcome to the second trimester! Between 14 and 16 weeks, you'll undergo the usual blood pressure and weight-gain check, and your doctor will monitor your baby's heartbeat. Dr. Chisholm explains that there may be continued discussion about genetic testing and a possible screening for neural tube defects with an AFP (or alpha-fetoprotein test ).

"If you are at an increased risk for gestational diabetes your provider may [also] suggest an early glucose challenge test," she says.

18 to 22 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

Between 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy, you will likely get the ultrasound you've been so anxiously awaiting—the anatomy scan! This is where you can find out the sex of the tiny human you've been growing for the past few months. For some, this may be the first ultrasound since becoming pregnant.

Around 20 weeks of pregnancy, your healthcare provider will begin to measure your belly to check your baby’s growth (or the uterine fundal height). They do this by measuring from the top of the pubic bone to the top of the uterus, which helps ensure your baby's growth is on track for how far along you are. You can expect this at every appointment moving forward.

22 to 26 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

Dr. Chisholm explains that between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, you can expect a glucose challenge screening test , which screens for gestational diabetes. You will be asked to drink a sweet liquid (glucose), wait one hour, and then have your blood drawn. The blood test examines how well your body processes sugar.

If you test positive during the test, you will be asked to do a second, longer test (three hours), called the glucose tolerance test. If you receive abnormal results, you will likely be diagnosed with gestational diabetes , and your provider will lay out a treatment plan.

28 to 36 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

Hello, third trimester! Your prenatal visits will now increase to every two weeks until you hit the 36-week mark. Your OB/GYN will continue to check your blood pressure, weight, and baby's heartbeat, but will also focus on your baby's position ( head-down versus breech ).

Your provider may also give you a Tdap vaccination during this time, which protects you and your baby against pertussis (or whooping cough), which can be very dangerous for an infant.

Around 35 weeks, you will also be tested for Group B streptococcus, a bacteria that can cause severe infections in newborns if not treated during labor. If you test positive, don't worry! The test simply shows that you have the bacteria in your body, not that it will cause illness in you or your baby. This can be treated with antibiotics during labor to ensure a safe delivery.

36 to 40 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

Once you hit 36 weeks pregnant (the home stretch!), you will start having weekly OB visits until delivery day. During the last few weeks of visits, your OB will start checking your cervix to see if dilation is taking place. They will also be able to determine whether your baby is in the head-down position and ready for labor. You will go over any final preparations, how to time your contractions, and when it's time to call your healthcare provider.

40 to 42 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

There are times when a baby may take longer than anticipated to make their big debut. Most times, your healthcare provider will allow the pregnancy to take its course until you reach 41 weeks, after which they will begin running tests to make sure the baby is okay. If your little one is active, healthy, and the amniotic fluid amount is sufficient, they may decide to wait it out until labor begins.

On the other hand, if you are approaching 42 weeks pregnant with no signs of active labor, induction may be the best option to secure the health of you and your baby. Once you reach this point, the placenta may stop working as well as it should, causing a decrease in oxygen and nutrients for the baby. Your OB/GYN may choose to start the induction process to get labor moving, or a C-section may be needed if there is fetal distress or labor is not starting or progressing as it should.

A Word From Verywell

While you've gotten a general run-down of each prenatal appointment, it's important to keep in mind that every pregnancy is different. Remember to bring any questions you have to each doctor's visit, and don't be afraid to ask them! Your OB/GYN is there to guide you every step of the way and ensure you and your baby receive the absolute best care, treatment, and delivery possible.

March of Dimes. Prenatal care checkups .

M Health Fairveiw. What to expect before, during and after your first prenatal appointment .

Nemours Children's Health. Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) .

American Pregnancy Association. Glucose tolerance test .

Nemours Children's Health. Group B Strep and pregnancy .

Mount Sinai. When you pass your due date .

By Alex Vance Alex Vance is a freelance writer covering topics ranging from pregnancy and parenting to health and wellness. She is a former news and features writer for Moms.com and Blog Writer for The HOTH. Her motherhood-related pieces have been published on Scary Mommy, Motherhood Understood, and Thought Catalog.

16 Weeks Pregnant

Medical review policy, latest update:, your baby at week 16, at a glance, 16 weeks pregnant is how many months, how big is my baby at 16 weeks, baby's eyes are working, baby's skin is transparent, baby will soon hear your voice, your body at week 16.

Rapid growth

Your 16 weeks pregnant belly, your pregnancy weight gain, nasal congestion, pregnancy symptoms week 16, tips for you this week.

What to Expect When You’re Expecting , 5th edition, Heidi Murkoff. WhatToExpect.com, Back Pain During Pregnancy , January 2022. WhatToExpect.com, Vaginal Discharge During Pregnancy (Leukorrhea) , January 2022. WhatToExpect.com, Pregnancy-Safe and Family-Friendly Recipes . WhatToExpect.com, Stuffy Nose and Nosebleeds During Pregnancy , June 2023 National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, Fetal Development , July 2021. Mayo Clinic, Fetal Development: The 2nd Trimester , June 2022. Food and Drug Administration, Is Rinsing Your Sinuses With Neti Pots Safe? October 2023. National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, Prenatal Diagnosis Screening and Diagnostic Tools, June 2017. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Health Tips for Pregnant Women , October 2019. AboutKidsHealth, The Hospital for Sick Children, The Second Trimester , September 2009. National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine, Canadian Family Physician, Treating the Common Cold During Pregnancy , May 2008. WhatToExpect.com, How Many Weeks, Months and Trimesters in a Pregnancy? , May 2022. WhatToExpect.com, When Does Baby's Vision Develop in the Womb? , June 2021. WhatToExpect.com, When Babies Start Growing Hair, Skin and Nails , June 2021. WhatToExpect.com, When Your Baby Can Hear in the Womb , June 2021. WhatToExpect.com, How Much Weight Should You Gain During Pregnancy? , July 2022. WhatToExpect.com, 18 Best Foods to Eat During Pregnancy , April 2022. WhatToExpect.com, How to Relieve Breast Pain and Sore Nipples During Pregnancy , March 2023. WhatToExpect.com, Constipation During Pregnancy , October 2022. WhatToExpect.com, Varicose Veins During Pregnancy , February 2022. WhatToExpect.com, Sore and Bleeding Gums During Pregnancy , January 2022. WhatToExpect.com, No Breast Growth During Early Pregnancy , November 2021. WhatToExpect.com, Food Allergies in Babies and Toddlers: What Parents Need to Know , March 2023. WhatToExpect.com, Eating Vegetarian and Vegan During Pregnancy , June 2022. WhatToExpect.com, Pelvic Floor Exercises for Pregnancy , October 2022.

Recommended Products

⚠️ You can't see this cool product because you have ad block enabled.

best maternity bras for large bust kindred bravely

What Other October 2024 Moms Are Talking About

Recommended reading, pregnancy sex: a trimester-by-trimester breakdown of sex during pregnancy, when a fetus can feel: how the sense of touch develops, ⚠️ you can't see this cool content because you have ad block enabled., what is the baking soda gender test and is it accurate, early way day deals: up to 70% off nursery furniture and more at wayfair, how to plan the perfect pregnancy announcement photo session, inclined sleepers are dangerous for babies — here's why, explore more in your pregnancy week-by-week.

Pregnancy Classes

pregnant-woman-doctor-stethoscope-first-prenatal-visit | American Pregnancy Association

Your First Prenatal Visit

If you did not meet with your health care provider before you were pregnant, your first prenatal visit will generally be around 8 weeks after your LMP (last menstrual period ). If this applies to you, you should schedule a prenatal visit as soon as you know you are pregnant!

Even if you are not a first-time mother, prenatal visits are still important since every pregnancy is different. This initial visit will probably be one of the longest. It will be helpful if you arrive prepared with vital dates and information. This is also a good opportunity to bring a list of questions that you and your partner have about your pregnancy, prenatal care, and birth options.

What to Expect at Your First Pregnancy Appointment

Your doctor will ask for your medical history, including:.

Medical and/or psychosocial problems
Blood pressure, height, and weight
Breast and cervical exam
Date of your last menstrual period (an accurate LMP is helpful when determining gestational age and due date)
Birth control methods
History of abortions and/or miscarriages
Hospitalizations
Medications you are taking
Medication allergies
Your family’s medical history

Your healthcare provider will also perform a physical exam which will include a pap smear , cervical cultures, and possibly an ultrasound if there is a question about how far along you are or if you are experiencing any bleeding or cramping .

Blood will be drawn and several laboratory tests will also be done, including:

Hemoglobin/ hematocrit
Rh Factor and blood type (if Rh negative, rescreen at 26-28 weeks)
Rubella screen
Varicella or history of chickenpox, rubella, and hepatitis vaccine
Cystic Fibrosis screen
Hepatitis B surface antigen
Tay Sach’s screen
Sickle Cell prep screen
Hemoglobin levels
Hematocrit levels
Specific tests depending on the patient, such as testing for tuberculosis and Hepatitis C

Your healthcare provider will probably want to discuss:

Recommendations concerning dental care , cats, raw meat, fish, and gardening
Fevers and medications
Environmental hazards
Travel limitations
Miscarriage precautions
Prenatal vitamins , supplements, herbs
Diet , exercise , nutrition , weight gain
Physician/ midwife rotation in the office

Possible questions to ask your provider during your prenatal appointment:

Is there a nurse line that I can call if I have questions?
If I experience bleeding or cramping, do I call you or your nurse?
What do you consider an emergency?
Will I need to change my habits regarding sex, exercise, nutrition?
When will my next prenatal visit be scheduled?
What type of testing do you recommend and when are they to be done? (In case you want to do research the tests to decide if you want them or not.)

If you have not yet discussed labor and delivery issues with your doctor, this is a good time. This helps reduce the chance of surprises when labor arrives. Some questions to ask include:

What are your thoughts about natural childbirth ?
What situations would warrant a Cesarean ?
What situations would warrant an episiotomy ?
How long past my expected due date will I be allowed to go before intervening?
What is your policy on labor induction?

Want to Learn More?

Sign up for our weekly email newsletter
Bonding With Your Baby: Making the Most of the First Six Weeks
7 Common Discomforts of Pregnancy

Share this post:

Leg Cramps During Pregnancy

Prenatal Vitamin Limits

Skin Changes During Pregnancy

Track your baby’s development, subscribe to our week-by-week pregnancy newsletter.

The Bumpy Truth Blog
Fertility Products Resource Guide

Pregnancy Tools

Ovulation Calendar
Baby Names Directory
Pregnancy Due Date Calculator
Pregnancy Quiz

Pregnancy Journeys

Partner With Us
Corporate Sponsors

Pregnancy Week by Week

16 Weeks Pregnant

Key Takeaways at 16 Weeks Pregnant

Your uterus is expanding big time—meaning that bump might show up any day now (if it hasn’t already!).
Some pregnant people can feel baby move as early as 16 weeks. If this isn’t your first pregnancy, you’ll easily recognize (and more readily identify) those signature kicks, jabs and rolls. FYI, early movement is called quickening .
Amniocentesis is an elective test that happens between 15 and 20 weeks gestation. It can diagnose neural tube defects, chromosomal abnormalities and other genetic disorders. It’s generally considered safe, but comes with a very small increased risk of miscarriage.

Now that you’re 16 weeks pregnant, things are getting pretty exciting. You may have another prenatal visit this week, where you will get to hear baby’s heartbeat again. Even more thrilling will be feeling baby kick, which could happen starting this week, so pay attention to those subtle feelings in your 16 weeks pregnant belly. Another cool fact? Baby is starting to be able to hear your voice—and they’ll recognize it at birth—so feel free to chat baby up any chance you get.

Video Recap at 16 Weeks

3d views: my baby, my body.

See their progress for yourself with our 3D interactive tool.

Baby at Week 16

Inside your 16 weeks pregnant belly, baby is listening to your voice, thanks to tiny bones forming in their ears. Your 16-week fetus is growing hair, lashes and eyebrows, and more of their taste buds are forming.

What is baby doing at 16 weeks? Growing! Baby develops a lot during the second trimester, and a 16-week fetus is no exception. The muscles and bones are taking shape, the liver and pancreas start working, more lung tissue forms, toenails appear and legs develop. It’s a big week for baby!

How big is baby at 16 weeks pregnant?

At 16 weeks pregnant, baby is the size of an avocado, measuring between 4.6 to 5.5 inches long and weighing between 2.5 to 3.5 ounces.

16 weeks pregnant is how many months?

Sixteen weeks pregnant is four months pregnant—but remember, most doctors track your progress by week, not month.

16 week ultrasound

You’ll probably have a four-month prenatal visit around the time you’re 16 weeks pregnant. As usual, you’ll likely have a urine test; your OB will be checking your urine for signs of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. You may also have a 16 weeks pregnant ultrasound at your appointment, but don’t be alarmed if you don’t, as your OB will do one closer to mid-pregnancy.

The 9 Best Infant Car Seats, Based on Parent Testing

Pregnancy Symptoms at Week 16

More reason to celebrate: There are some 16 weeks pregnant symptoms that are actually good. For example, some moms-to-be find their hair and nails grow faster. Your hair might actually look thicker and more lustrous and your skin might look radiant, too. Woohoo! Here’s more of what you might be feeling at 16 weeks pregnant:

Your aching back is a side effect of pregnancy hormones and posture changes that happen as a result of your growing bump. To ease backaches , make some time for low-impact exercise. Sit and stand up straight and regularly stretch your body.

Bigger boobs

Your breasts may have gone up one or two cup sizes by now and should be completely prepped for breastfeeding by the end of the second trimester.

Constipation

Getting, um, stopped up is an unfortunate result of your uterus starting to press on your intestines and the surge in pregnancy hormones. Load up on fiber-rich foods and drink lots of water to keep things moving.

Forgetfulness

This is also known as #PregnancyBrain . No one knows for sure what causes pregnant women to become more forgetful. It could be biological or it could just be a result of having lots on your mind!

Dry, itchy, sensitive eyes

Blame the hormones once again! Some moms-to-be find themselves dealing with dry and itchy, watery eyes , especially if they have allergies. You could try over-the-counter allergy medications or eye drops for dry eyes, but be sure to consult your OB before choosing one.

Glowing skin

Finally—that pregnancy glow that people are always talking about. Va va voom! Keep your skin looking its best by knowing what topical products to use—and what ingredients to avoid , like Retin-A containing products.

What should you feel at 16 weeks pregnant?

As the second trimester continues, you should be gaining more energy. Many moms-to-be enjoy glowing skin, thanks to a combination of more blood pumping through your body and hormones increasing oil production in the skin. On the flip side, you may still experience symptoms you’ve been dealing with for weeks now. Bleeding gums, leg cramps, aches and pains, skin discoloration and swelling are all common occurrences for women who are around four months pregnant.

If you’re 16 weeks pregnant with twins, your symptoms probably won’t be different than they would be for a mom carrying one baby at this point. You definitely want to keep your doctor posted on all your symptoms, though, since a twin pregnancy is considered higher risk, so your doctor will want to keep close tabs on you and your babies.

Your Pregnant Belly at 16 Weeks

Pretty soon, you’ll start feeling baby moving around in your 16 weeks pregnant belly. At first, those moves might feel like gas or a muscle twitch, but over time, as baby gets bigger and stronger, they’ll be unmistakable. If you’re 16 weeks pregnant with twins, you won’t feel kicks any earlier than a singleton mom-to-be will, but over time, twin moms definitely feel more kicking sensations.

Of course, feeling those movements comes with other issues, like having your lungs crowded by your growing babe. That could make it seem tough to catch your breath from time to time.

Should you have a baby bump at 16 weeks?

Your bump is probably making its appearance around 16 weeks pregnant, if it hasn’t popped already. There are a few different reasons behind the size of your 16 weeks pregnant belly, which include your expanding uterus and possible bloating from excess fluid in the body. And of course, your growing baby is taking up space too!

Nothing sweeter than week 16. Around now is when that first trimester nausea has likely subsided. You may also be feeling more energetic than in the first trimester, but make sure you take it easy and get plenty of rest so you can continue to exude that beautiful pregnancy glow.

Rachel Miller

MD, ob-gyn and founder of Pocket Bridges

Tips for 16 Weeks Pregnant

Here are some things to do this week.

Prevent acne breakouts

The extra oil your skin produces during pregnancy can lead to pimples , so control flare-ups with oil-free products that do the job while still being gentle enough for you and baby. Look for cleansers and treatment products with glycolic acid, benzoyl peroxide or azelaic acid and avoid retinols, but always consult with your doctor before using an acne treatment.

Pregnancy brain can be frustrating, so get ahead of it by making to-do lists. Whether you have a digital planner or use old-fashioned paper and pen, jotting down all you have to do—and it’s probably a lot right now!—helps you keep track of everything without missing a step.

Update your bra drawer

By now your breasts have probably grown quite a bit, and suddenly the bra spillage is real. Skip the sexy lingerie section and invest in some high-quality maternity or nursing bras to best support the girls.

Find a chair with good support

If you’re working through your pregnancy sitting at a desk, it can intensify any backaches you have. Try placing a support pillow behind your lower back, or find a comfortable ergonomic chair that keeps your back straight, not hunched over.

There's no turning back, but I definitely had moments of "what have we done?!" I was so excited to become a parent, but also felt so nervous about how things were going to change. It's hard to admit, but I wasn't 100 percent confident we were ready. But the moment baby arrived, all doubt flew out the window. Ready our not, our new life was heaving on my chest, and I knew we'd figure it out.

Maryann L., mom of three

Pregnancy Checklist at Week 16

Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.

Johns Hopkins Medicine, The Second Trimester

Cleveland Clinic, Quickening in Pregnancy , April 2022

American Pregnancy Association, Amniocentesis

Johns Hopkins Medical Education Division, Fetal Heartbeat , 2005

Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews, Auditory Development in the Fetus and Infant , December 2008

Yale Baby School, Does My Infant Recognize Me?

Cleveland Clinic, Pregnancy: Second Trimester , November 2021

Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Anatomy and Development of the Human Taste System , October 2019

Cleveland Clinic, Fetal Development , March 2021

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, How Your Fetus Grows During Pregnancy , December 2021

MedlinePlus, Fetal Development , July 2021

National Library of Medicine, Embryology, Pulmonary , August 2023

Mayo Clinic, Pregnancy Week by Week , June 2022

Michigan State Department of Health and Human Services, Fetal Development: Week 16

American Pregnancy Association, 16 Weeks Pregnant

Mount Sinai, Prenatal Care in Your Second Trimester

Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, Pregnancy and Skin Changes

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Skin Conditions During Pregnancy , December 2021

American Pregnancy Association, Pregnancy Glow

Johns Hopkins Medicine, Back Pain in Pregnancy

American Pregnancy Association, Breast Changes During Pregnancy

Cleveland Clinic, Lactation , December 2021

Cleveland Clinic, Pregnancy Constipation , October 2021

Psychoneuroendocrinology, Working Memory from Pregnancy to Postpartum: Do Women Really Change? , April 2021

Scientific Reports, The Effect of Pregnancy on Maternal Cognition , June 2021

Turkish Journal of Ophthalmology, Pregnancy and the Eye , October 2015

American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Pregnancy and Allergy , April 2018

March of Dimes, Isotretinoin and Other Retinoids During Pregnancy , June 2019

American Pregnancy Association, Lack of Energy During Pregnancy

Cleveland Clinic, Pregnancy Gingivitis , March 2022

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office on Women’s Health, Body Changes and Discomforts , February 2021

American Pregnancy Association, Skin Changes During Pregnancy

American Pregnancy Association, Swelling During Pregnancy

UCSF Health, High-Risk Pregnancy

Harvard Health Publishing, Shortness of Breath in Pregnancy

Akron Children’s Hospital, Pregnancy Brain: Is That a Real Thing? , June 2022

Cleveland Clinic, Your Guide to Healthy Pregnancy, 12th Edition , 2023

Cleveland Clinic, Pregnancy: Correct Posture & Body Mechanics , January 2018

Learn how we ensure the accuracy of our content through our editorial and medical review process .

Navigate forward to interact with the calendar and select a date. Press the question mark key to get the keyboard shortcuts for changing dates.

Pregnancy Weeks
Nursery Design
Toddler Sleep
White Noise

Prenatal Appointment Schedule

Your home pregnancy test let you know loud and clear: You’re expecting a baby! Congrats! And while you may be itching to shout your big news from the rooftops, for many parents-to-be, the first call they make is not to their parents or their best friends…but to their doctor. And that’s a smart move. After all, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends you reach out to your healthcare provider to set up a prenatal appointment as soon as you think you may be pregnant. But that doesn’t mean your OB/GYN or midwife will want to see you right away. To find out when you need to start your prenatal visits—how often you should go and what to expect at each prenatal visit—keep reading .

Since 1930, 12 to 14 in-person prenatal visits have been the go-to recommendation for healthy pregnancies in America, which shakes out to :

Weeks 4 to 28 of pregnancy: One prenatal visit every 4 weeks (once a month)

Weeks 28 to 36 of pregnancy: One prenatal visit every 2 weeks (twice a month)

Weeks 36 to 41 of pregnancy: One prenatal visit every week (once a week)

Your physician or midwife may ask you to come in for prenatal check-ups more often if you have a high-risk pregnancy or if you are at a so-called “ advanced maternal age .”

Or your doctor might schedule fewer prenatal visits. That’s because ACOG and the University of Michigan convened an independent panel of maternal care experts in 2021 to review the current prenatal visit schedule—and that panel recommended eight to 10 prenatal visits for pregnancies without chronic medical conditions. Since formal guidance from ACOG is forthcoming, the revised schedule is not yet the norm. But if you and your care provider decide on a reduced schedule, you can rest assured that this newfangled approach is more on par with peer countries that have better maternity outcomes than here in America. Based on the panels’ recommendations, a prenatal care schedule for a healthy pregnant person between 18 and 35 years old can look like this:

Weeks 7 to 10 of pregnancy: First ultrasound and risk assessment

Weeks 6 to 28 of pregnancy: One prenatal visit every 4 to 6 weeks

Weeks 28 to 36 of pregnancy: One prenatal visit every 2 to 4 weeks

Weeks 36 to 41 of pregnancy: One prenatal visit every week or every 2 weeks

Some prenatal genetic testing and other lab work can either be completed within the limited appointment timeframe—or separately. For example, if you have an in-person visit at 9 weeks, but that’s too early to complete prenatal genetic testing, you can return for a separate lab draw one week later.

Can I do virtual prenatal appointments?

If you’re healthy and free of any pregnancy complications, ACOG/University of Michigan panel (called MiPATH) notes that about half of your prenatal appointments can be virtual… if you and your care provider decide that this is the best option.

These four prenatal visits must be in person:

First prenatal visit

28-week prenatal visit

36-week prenatal visit

39-week prenatal visit

These visits can be either in person or conducted with telemedicine.

16-week prenatal visit

22-week prenatal visit

32-week prenatal visit

38-week prenatal visit

If you and your care provider agree to divide up your prenatal visits between in-person prenatal checkups and virtual, you’ll likely need instructions and supplies , such as:

Blood pressure cuff

Fetal Doppler (aka electronic fetal heart rate monitor) to check Baby’s heartbeat

Doppler gel, to be used with the heartbeat monitor

Tape measure that includes centimeters to measure fundal height, which is the distance from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus

You’ll be instructed how to use all of the above and how to upload this data into a secure network roughly 48 hours before your appointment , so your provider has time to review these measurements before your virtual appointment.

First-Trimester Prenatal Care Visits

Because not everyone has their first prenatal care visit during the same week of pregnancy, the timing of subsequent visits may differ from others. For instance, if your first prenatal visit was at week 8, your next appointment would likely be four weeks later, at 12 weeks pregnant . But if, your initial appointment was earlier, your second appointment may be earlier, too!

As long as your appointments are spaced out properly—and you are getting prenatal tests and vaccines during the proper window—it’s all good! In your first trimester, you’ll likely have a prenatal visit every month. (The first trimester spans from zero to 13 weeks of pregnancy.) Here’s what to expect :

Appointments will be brief. (But they’re important!)

You’ll be weighed. During your first trimester, you’ll likely gain between 2 and 4 pounds .

Your blood pressure will be checked. Because blood pressure fluctuates, if your numbers come up high, your doc or midwife will likely redo your reading. (An ideal blood pressure result is less than 120/80 mm Hg.)

You’ll hear Baby’s “heartbeat.” What you’re truly hearing is fetal cardiac activity. It’ll take until 17 to 20 weeks until the chambers of the heart develop and can be detected on an ultrasound.

You’ll pee in a cup. Your care provider will collect a urine sample to test for sugar or protein to screen for gestational diabetes and high blood pressure.

Questions to Ask During First Trimester Prenatal Visits

Your prenatal appointments are the ideal time to discuss any questions, including:

What type of prenatal vitamins should I take?

Are other medications or supplements safe?

Is sex safe during pregnancy?

What foods are off limits? Can I have coffee and fish ?

Can I continue my exercise routine? Should I tamp down (or ramp up) my workouts?

How can I tame my morning sickness? And when will it end?

What other symptoms can I expect? When should I call you?

Is spotting normal?

What’s my due date?

What’s your advice regarding prenatal genetic testing ?

What hospital or birth center do you deliver at?

Will you be the one to deliver my baby?

First Prenatal Appointment

It’s best to see your healthcare provider before you get pregnant , so you can go over your health history, get up to date on vaccinations, discuss medications or pre-existing medical conditions—and start on prenatal vitamins—ahead of conception. But if that ship has sailed, no worries! It’s recommended that you begin regular prenatal care visits sometime between 7 weeks and 10 weeks of pregnancy , often starting at 8 weeks of pregnancy . (At times, your care provider will have you come in between 4 weeks and 6 weeks pregnant .)

Regardless of the timing, your first prenatal appointment is usually the longest one and it must be conducted in person. You’ll be asked about your family and medical history (this family health history tool from the Surgeon General will help you get organized), your pregnancy history, medications and supplements you may be on, any unhealthy habits you may be engaged in, and the date of your last period. You can expect a complete physical exam, likely including:

Pregnancy test

Weight and height check

Blood pressure check

Breast exam

Pelvic exam

Urine test to looks for signs of a bladder or urinary tract infection

Check blood type

Screen for anemia

Screen for diabetes

Check Rh status, which is a specific protein on red blood cells that requires special care

Check immunity for rubella and chickenpox, unless proof of vaccination is documented in your medical history

Test for infections, such as hepatitis B, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV

Screen for depression

Listen for embryonic cardiac activity if your visit is before 8 weeks; listen for fetal cardiac activity after 8 weeks

If you haven't yet gotten your annual flu shot , you should talk to your healthcare provider about receiving it at this appointment . (Influenza can be much more dangerous during pregnancy.)

First Prenatal Visit Ultrasound

ACOG recommends that you have at least one standard ultrasound exam during your pregnancy, usually between 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy . That means the first-trimester ultrasound is not standard .

If you do get a first-trimester ultrasound, you may be expecting the jelly-and-wand-on-the-belly ultrasound. But for early pregnancy a transvaginal ultrasound is often the go-to ultrasound because it can reliably identify normal and abnormal pregnancies—and various developmental markers—earlier than an abdominal ultrasound. With a vaginal ultrasound (aka transvaginal or fetal ultrasound), a wandlike device is placed in your vagina to send sound waves and create an image . The info gathered from this first trimester ultrasound—coupled with the date of your last menstrual period—will help your care provider determine your due date. PS: Your due date is not a prediction of when you’ll deliver your baby! It’s the date that you’ll be 40 weeks pregnant . Very few people give birth on their due dates. In fact, many first-timers go up to two weeks after their due date before their bundle arrives.

10 to 13 Week Prenatal Appointment: Genetic Screening

In addition to your standard check-up, at this appointment you’ll likely be offered one of two screening tests…

First-Trimester Screening

The first-trimester screening is a blood test that measures two pregnancy-specific substances, plus an ultrasound. The ultrasound is called a nuchal translucency screening (NT ultrasound exam) and it measures the thickness at the back of Baby’s neck. Unusual results can mean that your baby-to-be is at an increased risk for Down syndrome (trisomy 21), another type of chromosomal abnormality (trisomy 18), and/or a physical defect of the heart, abdomen, and/or skeleton. With this test, the detection rate for Down syndrome and trisomy 18 is roughly 80% . This screening is also part one of something called sequential integrated screening (or integrated screening test.) Part two occurs during your second trimester and helps to more accurately highlight your baby-to-be’s possible risks.

Cell-Free DNA Screening (cfDNA)

This blood test (aka non-invasive prenatal testing) can be done as early as 10 weeks to detect more than 99% of Down syndrome cases , 97% of trisomy 18 pregnancies, and about 87% of trisomy 13 pregnancies. It can also tell you your baby’s sex. ACOG recommends cell-free DNA screening be discussed and offered to all pregnant patients, but it’s most often suggested to those over 35, parents who’ve had another baby with a chromosome disorder, or to folks whose first-trimester ultrasound looked abnormal. This test is not recommended for those carrying more than one baby.

If your results for either screening are abnormal, your doctor may recommend a diagnostic test called Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS). (Learn more about prenatal diagnostic tests .)

Second-Trimester Prenatal Care Visits

You’re one-third of the way through your pregnancy. The second trimester—from week 14 of pregnancy to week 26 —is here! Now, prenatal visits are still spaced on a once-a-month basis for most. For each visit, your practitioner will continue to cover the basics. Here’s what’s in store :

Weight. Most gain 1 pound a week from this point forward.

Blood pressure. During the second trimester, blood pressure decreases in healthy pregnancies, but not for those who develop gestational hypertension, which can lead to preeclampsia .

Fundal height. That’s a fancy way of saying “belly size.” Your provider will measure the distance from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus to gauge your baby's growth.

Heartbeat. Just a few weeks into the second trimester ( week 17 ) Baby’s heart chambers develop, which means you’ll hear an honest-to-goodness heartbeat thanks to a fetal Doppler ultrasound, which uses sound waves to detect the movement of blood in vessels.

Urinalysis. This’ll look for signs of infection, protein in the urine (sign of preeclampsia), and glucose (sugar). Too much sugar in your urine may signify gestational diabetes, which can develop in the second trimester , sometimes as early as week 20 of pregnancy .

Fetal movement. Between 16 and 20 weeks of pregnancy you’ll likely start noticing some baby flutters. Expect your OB/GYN or midwife to start asking about them at that time. (PS: If this is your first , it’s common not to feel a thing till 20 weeks.)

Questions to Ask During Second-Trimester Prenatal Visits

Some questions you might want to ask during your second trimester include:

When will I feel my baby move and kick?

Is spotting normal in the second trimester?

Is sex still safe?

Should my exercise routine change in the second trimester?

What symptoms are normal? What symptoms are abnormal?

What complications can arise this trimester?

What kind of exercise can I do?

When should I start sleeping side-sleeping?

When should I tour the hospital or birth center?

What birthing class, infant CPR, breastfeeding, and baby care classes do you recommend?

16 to 20 Week Prenatal Appointments: Second Trimester Screening

In addition to the standard tests and screeners that occur during each of your second trimester prenatal visits, any appointment between week 16 of pregnancy and week 18 is the ideal time to get your second-trimester triple or quad screening. (You can get these as early as week 15 and as late as 22 weeks pregnant.) And, if you got your first-trimester screening (blood test and NT ultrasound), you may be getting the second half of the sequential integrated screening test. If any of these—or prior—tests come back indicating an elevated risk of birth defects, an amniocentesis may be performed during this timeframe.

Triple Screening

The second-trimester triple screening is a blood test that measures for three specific proteins and hormones: alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and estriol (uE3) . The amount of these substances can help determine the likelihood that your baby-to-be may have a birth defect, such as Down syndrome, spina bifida, or anencephaly.

Quad Screening

The second trimester quad screening also involves checking how much AFP, hCG, and uE3 are circulating in your blood—plus one more test for the hormone inhibin A (inhA).

Sequential Integrated Screening

This is also called combined first- and second-trimester screening. Part one of this two-part test (blood test and nuchal translucency ultrasound) occurred between 10 and 13 weeks of pregnancy. And between 15 weeks and 20 weeks pregnant , the second part of the sequential integrated screening takes place. Here, a new blood sample will be taken to measure the same four proteins and hormones as the quad screening: AFP, hCG, uE3, and inhA. The first-trimester portion of this test yields a roughly 80% detection rate for Down syndrome and trisomy 18. But when the results of those tests are then reviewed alongside this new blood test, the detection rate bumps to 90% for Down syndrome and trisomy 18—and 80% detection rate for open neural tube defects.

18 to 22 Week Prenatal Appointment: The Anatomy Scan

By now, you know the deal with the weight checks, the blood pressure screening, and the like. And during one of your second-trimester appointments between 18 and 22 weeks, you’ll get an ultrasound. That means, this prenatal appointment will be longer than others. It may take up to 45 minutes to do the ultrasound alone!

The Anatomy Scan

While often dubbed the 20-week ultrasound, the anatomy scan (or anomaly scan) can be performed any time between 18 and 22 weeks of pregnancy. Here, the ultrasound technician will jelly your belly and use a 2D, 3D, or a 4D ultrasound wand over your abdomen to look at your baby-to-be’s physical development, the placenta, and your organs. Here’s some of what your healthcare team will be looking for:

Listen for any abnormal heart rhythms

Detect congenital disorders

Detect anatomical abnormalities

Check umbilical cord for blood flow

Ensure the placenta isn’t covering the cervix

Measure amniotic fluid

Measure baby to ensure they’re growing appropriately for their age

Learn sex of your growing baby, if you chose

24 Week Prenatal Appointment: The Glucose Test

Weight? Check. Blood pressure? Check. Urine screening? Check. And now for a little something different…the glucose tolerance test! If you’re not at an elevated risk for gestational diabetes , you’ll get the glucose screening test anytime between 24 and 28 weeks pregnant. (High-risk moms-to-be get tested earlier.) For this test, you drink down a special (super-sweet) sugar mixture…then cool your heels for an hour. Once time’s up, your blood will be drawn to check your blood sugar level. If high, that may be a sign that you have gestational diabetes. Your care provider will have you do another type of glucose test to confirm the results.

Third-Trimester Prenatal Care Visits

The final stretch! During your third trimester (starting at week 27 ), you’ll most likely see your doctor or midwife every two weeks until week 36 for your prenatal visits. After that, visit them weekly until week 40—or until Baby arrives! During your visits, you provider will check your:

Weight. You’re likely still gaining 1 pound a week by your third trimester. If you’re having twins, then you’ll be gaining more, landing somewhere between 37 to 54 pounds gained total.

Blood pressure. Expecting parents with chronic hypertension can get preeclampsia in their second or third trimester and super-high BP that begins during this timeframe is called gestational hypertension.

Fundal height. Fun fact: After week 24 of pregnancy , fundal height often matches the number of weeks pregnant you are, plus or minus 2 centimeters.

Urinalysis . Your urine will be screened for signs of preeclampsia, toxemia, and sugar.

Fetal movement. It’s perfectly normal to feel Baby kicking and moving a lot early in your third trimester…but feeling fewer movements as the weeks stretch on. That’s because there’s less room for your baby to move!

Baby position. Your midwife or OB/GYN will check the position of your baby-to-be during most of your third trimester prenatal appointments by simply touching your abdomen

Questions to Ask During Third-Trimester Prenatal Visits

Here are some questions you may be thinking about in the home-stretch of pregnancy:

Can we talk about my birth plan ?

Can you recommend any postpartum doulas ?

In what ways will my baby’s movements change this trimester?

How much swelling of hands and feet is normal?

What happens if my water breaks at home?

How can I tell the difference between labor and Braxton Hicks ?

When should I go to the hospital or birthing center for delivery?

What are my pain management options?

Who will be with me throughout my labor?

How likely is it that I’ll need a C-section?

What support is available if I choose to breastfeed?

What’s the difference between baby blues and postpartum depression ?

How can I prepare for my own postpartum care at home?

How soon can I see you for my postpartum checkup ?

27 to 36 Week Prenatal Appointments

Between 27 and 36 weeks, you’re likely seeing your provider every other week. You can expect many familiar pokes and prods…plus, at one of your appointments, a new poke: your Tdap vaccine .

This must-get shot offers protective antibodies that you then pass on to your baby before birth to help shield them from whooping cough, a potentially deadly disease that babies are most vulnerable to during their first few months of life. Because the number of antibodies in your body decreases over time, it’s important to get the Tdap vaccine during each pregnancy, even if you’ve been previously vaccinated. Doing so lowers your young baby’s risk of whooping cough by 78% , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Try to get the shot as close to 27 weeks pregnant as possible, since the protective antibodies peak roughly two weeks post-vaccine— and it takes some time to pass them on to your baby.

You’ll also be screened for depression in this window. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends routine depression screening in all pregnant and postpartum women. While the group doesn’t specify when exactly , a 2020 review in The Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine notes that depression screening should occur at the initial prenatal visit and again in the last trimester.

32 to 36 Week Prenatal Appointments

Your care provider will continue to check the position of your baby-to-be during your prenatal appointments, but by 32 to 36 weeks they’re going to really want your little one locked and loaded in the head-down position. If your doctor or midwife is unsure of your little one's exact positioning, they may perform an ultrasound to check. The reason? Babies who remain in the breech position after 36 weeks of pregnancy may need to be delivered via a planned C-section . That said, some healthcare providers may be comfortable with a vaginal breech birth . And others may offer to try and turn your baby to the head-down position while they’re still in the uterus. ( Learn more about breech babies .)

36 to 37 Week Prenatal Appointments

You’re now likely seeing your care provider every week! Either during your 36 week or 37 week visit, expect all of the standard prenatal checkup to-dos— and the Group B strep test. Group B strep (GBS) is a bacteria that lives in about a quarter of all moms-to-be . It usually causes no serious concern… unless it’s passed to a newborn during labor. A newborn infected with GBS may contract meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis, or other issues. That’s why it’s important to get tested before labor begins.

Your provider will swab your vagina and your rectum and then send the sample to be examined. If it comes back positive, don’t panic! You’ll receive an IV antibiotic once labor begins to help shield your baby from being infected. The antibiotics work best when given at least four hours before delivery, preventing roughly 90% of infections .

38 Week Prenatal Appointment

Your due date is almost here! At this appointment, your care provider will continue to give a quick-check of Baby’s movements, they’ll ask some questions, and review the signs of labor with you. Your provider may also perform a pelvic exam . It’s most appropriate to do a pelvic exam if…

You think you might be in labor. Pain, bleeding, bloody show? Then your doctor or midwife will want to check to see how dilated (open) and effaced (thinned out) your cervix is.

There are other complications. If you’re dealing with an infection, premature rupture of membranes, heavy bleeding, or another potential issue, an internal exam can help your doc help you.

Induction is on the horizon. If high blood pressure, Baby growth issues, or another health issue has you on the path to induction , your care provider will want to know the state of your cervix before proceeding. The same holds true if you’re choosing to be induced.

You want to know. A pelvic exam will let you know if (and how much) your cervix is dilated and effaced. But the kicker: These signs alone won’t necessarily clue you into when labor will start!

If none of the above applies to you, you can feel free to tell your provider that you’d rather take a pass on that third trimester pelvic exam! It’s 100% okay to say no!

39 to 40 Week Prenatal Appointments

Good news: At 39 weeks , your baby is now considered full term ! Expect more of the same at these quick prenatal check-ins. However, at week 39 your doctor or midwife might offer something called a membrane sweep . This is a common procedure that’s billed as a way to help induce labor. Here, your provider inserts a gloved finger into your cervix to loosen your amniotic sac from your uterus. You’ll likely experience some light bleeding, cramping, and/or mild discomfort post-sweep. Getting your membranes swept is entirely up to you and there’s no guarantee that it’ll work. In fact, a 2020 report concluded that membrane sweeping may be effective in achieving a spontaneous onset of labor…but the evidence is “low certainty.” PS: 57% of babies are born in weeks 39 to 40 .

41 Week Prenatal Appointment

It’s true that there are supposed to be 40 weeks in a pregnancy…but the CDC notes that almost 5% of babies are born during week 41 and less than 1% arrive at 42 weeks or beyond. (A pregnancy that lasts 41 weeks up to 42 weeks is called late term . A pregnancy that drags on longer than 42 weeks is called post-term.) When you’re more than one week past your due date , your doctor or midwife may recommend:

Nonstress test (NST): This test utilizes an electronic fetal monitor (a belt with a sensor on your abdomen) to measure Baby’s heart rate. It generally takes about 20 minutes to perform and can be done in your provider’s office or in a hospital setting.

Biophysical profile (BPP) Here, your baby’s heart rate is monitored in conjunction with an ultrasound exam to check on your baby-to-be’s amniotic fluid, their heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, and movement.

Contraction stress test (CST): This test assesses how your baby’s heart rate changes when your uterus contracts. To create a mild contraction, you may be given IV oxytocin.)

Depending on the results of the above tests, your healthcare provider may suggest an induction.

Questions to Ask If Past Your Due Date

Is there anything I can do to safely start labor on my own?

If we decide to induce, what’s the plan?

What can I expect during labor induction?

Does induction increase my chances of a C-section?

Are there any risks to inducing labor?

How long after induction can I expect contractions to start?

More on Prenatal Care

The Pregnancy Deficiency You Need to Know About
Depression During Pregnancy Need-to-Know
The 6 Nutrients You Need When Pregnant
How to Help Round Ligament Pain
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): Having a Baby
March of Dimes: Prenatal Care Checkups
Trends and state variations in out-of-hospital births in the United States, 2004-2017. June 2019
The impact of family physicians in rural maternity care. Birth Issues in Perinatal Care. September 2021
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Planning for Pregnancy
ACOG: Redesigning Prenatal Care Initiative
ACOG: MiPATH Prenatal Care Recommendations: A How To Guide for Maternity Care Professionals
A comparison of international prenatal care guidelines for low-risk women to inform high-value care. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. January 2020
Kaiser Family Foundation: Telemedicine and Pregnancy Care
Health University of Utah: Virtual Prenatal Care
Planned Parenthood: What happens at prenatal care appointments?
Perinatal depression: A review. The Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. May 2020
ACOG: ACOG Guide to Language and Abortion
CDC: Frequently Asked Influenza (Flu) Questions: 2022-2023 Season
Kaiser Permanente: First trimester prenatal care
ACOG: Ultrasound Exams
Transvaginal ultrasonography in first trimester of pregnancy and its comparison with transabdominal ultrasonography. Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences. July - September 2011
Nemours Children’s Health, KidsHealth: What if My Baby Isn't Born by My Due Date?
ACOG: Prenatal Genetic Screening Tests
Penn Medicine: Sequential Screening (Combined First and Second Trimester Screening)
UCSF Health: Prenatal Screening Tests
UCSF Health: FAQ: Cell-Free DNA Screening
ACOG: Current ACOG Guidance
MedlinePlus: Prenatal Cell-Free DNA Screening
Cleveland Clinic: Chorionic Villus Sampling for Prenatal Diagnosis
Mount Sinai: Prenatal care in your first trimester
MedlinePlus: Managing your weight gain during pregnancy
ACOG: Preeclampsia and High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
Mayo Clinic: Pregnancy week by week: Healthy pregnancy
Blood Pressure Patterns in Normal Pregnancy, Gestational Hypertension, and Preeclampsia. August 2000
American Academy of Family Physicians: Gestational Diabetes
Cleveland Clinic: Quickening in Pregnancy
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health: Second Trimester Prenatal Screening Tests
Kaiser Permanente: Triple or Quad Screening for Birth Defects
ACOG: Amniocentesis
Cleveland Clinic: 20-Week Ultrasound (Anatomy Scan)
Mount Sinai: Glucose screening tests during pregnancy
CDC: High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
Cleveland Clinic: Fetal Positions for Birth
CDC: Get the Whooping Cough Vaccine During Each Pregnancy
Screening for Depression in Adults US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. January 2016
Cleveland Clinic: Breech Baby
CDC: Group B Strep (GBS)
Cleveland Clinic: Group B Strep Pregnancy
Northwell Health, The Well: When You Do (And Don’t) Need A Cervical Check
National Child & Maternal Health Education Program: Know Your Terms
Cleveland Clinic: Membrane Sweep
Membrane sweeping for induction of labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. February 2020
Births: Final Data for 2020. National Vital Statistics Reports. February 2022
ACOG: When Pregnancy Goes Past Your Due Date
Mayo Clinic: Pregnancy week by week: Overdue pregnancy: What to do when baby's overdue

View more posts tagged, pregnancy health

Have questions about a Happiest Baby product? Our consultants would be happy to help! Submit your questions here.

Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider.

Prenatal visits: What to expect and how to prepare

Regular prenatal visits are an important part of your pregnancy care. Find out how often you'll see a healthcare provider, what to expect at each appointment, and smart ways to prepare.

When to schedule a prenatal visit

Prenatal visitation schedule, how should i prepare for a prenatal visit, what happens during prenatal visits, how can i make the most of my pregnancy appointments.

Make an appointment for your first prenatal visit once you're aware you are pregnant – when you receive a positive home pregnancy test, for example. Booking it around week 8 of pregnancy is typical.

You'll come back regularly in the weeks and months following that initial appointment. Most people have between 8 and 14 prenatal visits throughout the course of their pregnancy.

During this time, you'll see a lot of your healthcare practitioner. That's why it's so important to choose someone you like and trust. If you're not comfortable or satisfied with your provider after your first visit or visits, don't be afraid to find someone with whom you have a better connection.

Typically, a pregnant woman will visit their doctor, midwife , or nurse practitioner every four weeks during the first and second trimesters. In the third trimester, you'll be seen more often – usually every other week until 36 weeks, and then every week until the baby is born.

For more information on what happens at these visits, see:

Your first prenatal visit

Second trimester prenatal visits (14 weeks to 27 weeks)

Third trimester prenatal visits (28 weeks through the end of pregnancy)

The specific number of scheduled appointments you'll have depends on if your pregnancy is considered to be high-risk. This is determined by your medical history and whether you have any complications or conditions that warrant more frequent checkups, such as gestational diabetes , high blood pressure , or a history of preterm labor . If you've had any medical problems in the past or develop any new problems during this pregnancy, you may need more prenatal visits than the average pregnant woman.

In the weeks before each visit, jot down any questions or concerns in a notebook or a notes app on your smartphone. This way, you'll remember to ask your practitioner about them at your next appointment. You may be surprised by how many questions you have, so don't miss the opportunity to get some answers in person.

For example, before you drink an herbal tea or take a supplement or an over-the-counter medication , ask your provider about it. You can even bring the item itself – or a picture of the label – with you to your next appointment. Then, your doctor, midwife, or nurse practitioner can read the label and let you know whether it's okay to ingest.

Of course, if you have any pressing questions or worries, or develop any new, unusual, or severe symptoms , don't wait for your appointment – call your practitioner right away.

In addition to your list, you may want to bring a partner, friend, family member, or labor coach with you to some or all of your prenatal visits. They can comfort you, take notes, ask questions, and help you remember important information.

The goal of prenatal visits is to see how your pregnancy is proceeding and to provide you with information to help keep you and your baby healthy. It's important that you go to all of your prenatal appointments, even if you're feeling just fine and believe that everything is progressing perfectly.

Your practitioner will start by asking how you're feeling physically and emotionally, whether you have any complaints or worries, and what questions you may have. They'll also ask you about your baby's movements once you begin to feel them, typically during the second trimester. Your practitioner will have other questions as well, which will vary depending on how far along you are and whether there are specific concerns.

Your midwife, doctor, or nurse practitioner will also:

Check your weight , blood pressure , and urine
Check for swelling
Measure your abdomen
Check the position of your baby
Listen to your baby's heartbeat
Perform other exams and order tests, as appropriate
Give you the appropriate vaccinations
Closely monitor any complications you have or that you develop, and intervene if necessary

Near the end of your pregnancy, your provider may also do a pelvic exam to check for cervical changes. You will also discuss your delivery plan in more depth.

At the end of each visit, your practitioner will review their findings with you. They'll also explain the normal changes to expect before your next visit, warning signs to watch for, and the pros and cons of optional tests you may want to consider. Lifestyle issues will likely be a topic of discussion, as well. Expect to talk about the importance of good nutrition , sleep, oral health, stress management, wearing seatbelts, and avoiding tobacco , alcohol , and illicit drugs.

Many people look forward to their prenatal appointments but are disappointed to find that, with the exception of the first visit, they're in and out of the office in 10 minutes. A quick visit is typical and is usually a sign that everything is progressing normally. Still, you want to make sure your concerns are addressed – and that you and your baby are being well cared for.

Here are some things you can do to ensure that your prenatal visits are satisfying:

Speak up. Your practitioner isn't a mind reader and won't be able to tell what you're thinking just by performing a physical exam. So, if anything is bothering you, say your piece. Are you having trouble controlling your heartburn ? Managing your constipation ? Suffering from headaches ? This is the time to ask for advice. Consult the notebook of questions you've been compiling. In addition to physical complaints, let your practitioner know if you have emotional concerns or fitness or nutrition questions.
Ask the staff about the administrative stuff. Save your questions about things like insurance and directions to the hospital for the office staff so your practitioner has more time to answer your health-related questions. Go to the admin staff with any inquiries about payments, scheduling, office policies, and your contact information.
Be open-minded. When talking with your doctor, midwife, or nurse practitioner, you should feel comfortable speaking freely. But remember to listen, too. Take notes if you find it helpful.

Keep in mind, too, that some days are busier than others. This is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic. That doesn't mean your practitioner doesn't have to answer your questions, but sometimes a discussion can be continued at the next visit if it's a really busy day or if your practitioner needs to head to the hospital to deliver a baby.

At the same time, don't tolerate a healthcare practitioner who won't give you thorough answers, doesn't show reasonable compassion, or barely looks up from your chart. You and your baby deserve more than that.

Now that you know what to expect during all those prenatal visits, you might like a sneak peek at what else is in store. Here's an overview of the next nine months .

Learn more:

The ultimate pregnancy to-do list: First trimester
12 steps to a healthy pregnancy
When will my pregnancy start to show?
Fetal development timeline

Was this article helpful?

What happens at second trimester prenatal appointments

Pregnant woman getting blood pressure checked

What to expect at your first prenatal appointment

A young woman talking to a healthcare provider

What to expect from third trimester prenatal appointments

nurse talking to a pregnant woman and taking notes

Prenatal testing

pregnant woman talking to medical assistant

BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies .

MedlinePlus. (2021). Prenatal care in your first trimester. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000544.htm Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

March of Dimes. (2017). Prenatal Care Checkups. https://www.marchofdimes.org/pregnancy/prenatal-care-checkups.aspx Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

Office on Women’s Health. (2019). Prenatal Care and Tests. https://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/prenatal-care-and-tests Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

NIH: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2017). What happens during prenatal visits? https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/preconceptioncare/conditioninfo/prenatal-visits Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

NIH: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2017). What is a high-risk pregnancy? https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/pregnancy/conditioninfo/high-risk Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

NIH: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2018). What are some factors that make a pregnancy high-risk? https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/high-risk/conditioninfo/factors Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

March of Dimes. (2020). Over-the-Counter Medicine, Supplements, and Herbal Products During Pregnancy. https://www.marchofdimes.org/pregnancy/over-the-counter-medicine-supplements-and-herbal-products.aspx Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

Associates in Women’s Healthcare (2021). Preparing for Your First Prenatal Visit. https://www.associatesinwomenshealthcare.net/blog/preparing-for-your-first-prenatal-visit/ Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

National Health Service (UK). (2018). Your baby’s movements. https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/your-babys-movements/ Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

MedlinePlus. (2021). Prenatal care in your third trimester. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000558.htm Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

UCLA Health. (2021). Schedule of prenatal care. https://www.uclahealth.org/obgyn/workfiles/Pregnancy/Schedule_of_Prenatal_Care.pdf Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

UCR Health. (2021). Healthy Pregnancy: The Importance of Prenatal Care. https://www.ucrhealth.org/2018/07/healthy-pregnancy-the-importance-of-prenatal-care/ Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

Mayo Clinic. (2020). Prenatal care: 1 st trimesters visits. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/prenatal-care/art-20044882 Opens a new window [Accessed September 21, 2021.]

Where to go next

doctor marking urine sample bottle with a marker

Infants & Toddlers
Mental Health
Weight Management
Orthopedics & Spine
Brain & Memory
Breakthroughs
Cold & Flu
Ear, Nose & Throat
Heart & Vascular
Men’s Health
Women’s Health

A trimester-by-trimester guide to pregnancy

By: My Vanderbilt Health

April 24, 2024

Learn how each stage of pregnancy can affect you physically — and how your medical team will be working to care for you and your growing baby.

While everyone’s experience will be different, there are some common changes you can expect throughout the stages of pregnancy.

Pregnancies last around 40 weeks, counting from the first day of your last menstrual period. Here’s what you can expect during each of your three trimesters.

First Trimester (Weeks 0-13)

The earliest symptoms of pregnancy include breast tenderness, mood changes and a missed period. By the second month, you may feel sick to your stomach and fatigued. During this stage of the pregnancy, your belly and breasts will grow and your clothes may start to feel tight. You may also experience headaches, dizziness, heartburn or constipation.

“The most common reasons people seek care during the first trimester are nausea, vomiting, spotting and bleeding,” said Dr. Jody L. Stonehocker, an obstetrician with Vanderbilt Women’s Health .

“I tell patients that if they’re experiencing bleeding, they should come in to get checked out,” said Stonehocker . “It doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong, but, especially if they haven’t had an ultrasound yet, we want to rule out ectopic pregnancy .”

First trimester tests include:

A blood draw to scan for anemia, blood type, HIV and other conditions
Urine samples
Pelvic exam
An ultrasound to confirm pregnancy, verify gestational age and determine if you’re carrying multiples
The option to receive non-invasive prenatal testing , a blood test that screens for Down syndrome and other chromosomal conditions — and also allows you to find out the baby’s sex

Though you’ll see a provider regularly throughout pregnancy — appointments start out every 6 weeks and gradually become more frequent — don’t neglect the other aspects of your health.

Though you’ll see a provider regularly throughout pregnancy — appointments start out every 6 weeks and gradually become more frequent — don’t neglect the other aspects of your health. You can (and should!) go to your regular dental cleanings, and low-impact exercise like walking or yoga can improve your overall health.

Second Trimester (Weeks 14-27)

In the second trimester, you’ll start to feel your baby move. You’ll also feel more pressure on your bladder, stomach and other organs and may see a dark line emerge on your belly, called the linea nigra. You will also start gaining weight at a more regular pace — around 1 pound a week until you give birth. If you prefer not to track your weight, you can discuss modifications with your provider, like standing away from the scale’s display during appointments.

Second trimester tests include:

Urine tests
20-week ultrasound to see the size, position and number of babies, check for physical issues and see the sex of the baby
Blood sugar test to check for gestational diabetes

Third Trimester (Week 28-Birth)

As your baby grows, you may feel short of breath as your organs become more cramped. Your breasts will continue to grow, and milk may leak from your nipples. You will also start to feel minor contractions called Braxton-Hicks contractions . Also known as “false labor,” Braxton-Hicks contractions tend to be irregular and do not get stronger over time.

Third trimester tests include:

Repeat testing for anemia, HIV and other conditions
A swab for Group B streptococcus, a type of bacteria. If you’re positive, your obstetric care team will give you medicine during labor to lower the chance that your baby gets the bacteria.

In this stage of pregnancy, you should think through your birth plan so you can express your labor and postpartum preferences to your birthing partner and care team. This is also a great time to take any childbirth or breastfeeding classes, such as those offered by Vanderbilt Health .

Expert care for you and your baby

Each pregnancy and delivery is unique and yours should be too. Learn more about how Vanderbilt Health’s obstetrics and maternal fetal medicine teams bring together nationally ranked expertise and personalized care from your first prenatal visit to delivery and beyond.

To learn more, call 615-343-5700 or schedule an appointment online .

Making the most of your prenatal care

Early and continuous prenatal care can set you up for a supportive partnership with your health care provider throughout your pregnancy. Learn what to expect at your appointments.

What is an amniocentesis?

What to expect with this pregnancy screening procedure.

Pregnant Asian woman visits with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist.

What to expect if you’re referred to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist

There are many reasons a pregnant woman may need to see this type of specialist. What to know.

Sign up for updates on My Vanderbilt Health

SARAH INÉS RAMÍREZ, MD, FAAFP

Am Fam Physician. 2023;108(2):139-150

Related AFP Community Blog: Practice Ancestry-Based Medicine, not Racial Essentialism

Related editorial: Perinatal Care of Transgender Patients, Adolescent Patients, and Patients With Opioid Use Disorder

Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships.

Well-coordinated prenatal care that follows an evidence-based, informed process results in fewer hospital admissions, improved education, greater satisfaction, and lower pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality. Care initiated at 10 weeks or earlier improves outcomes. Identification and treatment of periodontal disease decreases preterm delivery risk. A prepregnancy body mass index greater than 25 kg per m 2 is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertension, miscarriage, and stillbirth. Advanced maternal and paternal age (35 years or older) is associated with gestational diabetes, hypertension, miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction, aneuploidy, birth defects, and stillbirth. Rh o (D) immune globulin decreases alloimmunization risk in a patient who is RhD-negative carrying a fetus who is RhD-positive. Treatment of iron deficiency anemia decreases the risk of preterm delivery, intrauterine growth restriction, and perinatal depression. Ancestry-based genetic risk stratification using family history can inform genetic screening. Folic acid supplementation (400 to 800 mcg daily) decreases the risk of neural tube defects. All pregnant patients should be screened for asymptomatic bacteriuria, sexually transmitted infections, and immunity against rubella and varicella and should receive tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap), influenza, and COVID-19 vaccines. Testing for group B Streptococcus should be performed between 36 and 37 weeks, and intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis should be initiated to decrease the risk of neonatal infection. Because of the impact of social determinants of health on outcomes, universal screening for depression, anxiety, intimate partner violence, substance use, and food insecurity is recommended early in pregnancy. Screening for gestational diabetes between 24 and 28 weeks is recommended for all patients. People at risk of preeclampsia, including those diagnosed with COVID-19 in pregnancy, should be offered 81 mg of aspirin daily starting at 12 weeks. Chronic hypertension should be treated to a blood pressure of less than 140/90 mm Hg.

Family physicians provide family-centered care for individuals and families before, during, and after the birth of a child. Well-coordinated prenatal care that follows an evidence-based, informed process results in fewer hospital admissions, improved education, greater care satisfaction, improved perinatal outcomes, and mitigates pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality. 1 Family physicians are uniquely positioned to address social determinants of health while ensuring quality of care.

Prenatal Care Visits

Initiation of care between six and 10 weeks allows for identification of preexisting conditions that negatively affect maternal-fetal outcomes (e.g., diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity) 2 ; however, 22% of pregnant patients do not receive care during this time. 2 The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a reevaluation of the number of physician visits needed, with an emphasis on increased flexibility, allowing for a combination of virtual and in-person visits depending on risk. 3 Table 1 outlines the components of prenatal care. 1 , 4 – 22 Table 2 provides opportunities for educating pregnant patients during prenatal care visits. 6 , 8 , 14 – 19 , 23 – 29

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION

Weight, height, and blood pressure should be measured at the first prenatal visit. Early identification of periodontal disease and treatment decreases adverse pregnancy outcomes. 7 Treatment may be performed in the second trimester, and emergent treatment may be completed at any time during pregnancy. 7 A bimanual pelvic examination has poor predictive value for clinical pelvimetry and screening for disease (i.e., sexually transmitted infections and cancer) but may be used as a diagnostic aid in patients with a discrepancy between uterine size and gestational age, which warrants ultrasonography assessment. 30 A pelvic examination is also useful in a symptomatic patient for evaluating spontaneous labor (e.g., cervical dilation, rupture of amniotic membranes). The clinical breast examination is a diagnostic aid in the symptomatic patient and addresses breastfeeding concerns or barriers but does not demonstrate benefit in patients already receiving screening mammograms and does not decrease mortality. 31 – 33

MATERNAL WEIGHT GAIN AND NUTRITION

A prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 kg per m 2 is associated with preterm delivery, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia. A BMI greater than 30 kg per m 2 is also associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and obstructive sleep apnea. 6 Prepregnancy BMI informs the timing of fetal surveillance, nutritional counseling, and goals for gestational weight gain. Table 3 lists general dietary guidelines for pregnant people. 8 , 17 , 34 , 35 For Black and Hispanic people, a prepregnancy BMI greater than 25 kg per m 2 and the associated poor outcomes are worse compared with non-Hispanic White people. 36

PARENTAL AGE AT CONCEPTION

Advanced maternal and paternal age (35 years and older) is associated with poor outcomes (i.e., aneuploidy, birth defects, gestational diabetes, hypertension, intrauterine growth restriction [IUGR], miscarriage, and stillbirth). Activities focused on improving perinatal outcomes for this group, such as a detailed fetal anatomic screening on ultrasonography, may decrease morbidity and mortality. 37

PREGNANCY DATING AND ULTRASONOGRAPHY

Accurate gestational age estimation is critical to quality care because it enables more precise timing of interventions (e.g., aspirin for preeclampsia prevention, steroids for fetal lung maturity), screening tests, and delivery. Up to 40% of people estimate their last menstrual period incorrectly; therefore, ultrasonography is recommended if uncertainty exists and for patients with irregular menstrual cycles, irregular bleeding, and discrepancy between uterine size and gestational age. 1 , 38 Ultrasonography before 24 weeks decreases missed multiple gestations and post-term inductions. 39 Although routine third-trimester ultrasonography may increase detection of IUGR, it does not improve outcomes. 40 If malpresentation is suspected on physical examination, confirmation with ultrasonography is recommended. 4

ALLOIMMUNIZATION

For patients who are RhD-negative and carrying a fetus who is RhD-positive, the alloimmunization risk is 1.5% to 2% in the setting of spontaneous abortion and 4% to 5% with dilation and curettage. The risk is decreased by 80% to 90% with anti-D immune globulin. 41 Testing for the ABO blood group and RhD antibodies should be performed early in pregnancy. A 300-mcg dose of anti-D immune globulin is recommended for RhD-negative pregnant patients at 28 weeks and again within 72 hours of delivery if the infant is RhD-positive. 41

Iron deficiency anemia increases the risk of preterm delivery, IUGR, and perinatal depression. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found insufficient evidence to assess the benefits and harms of screening for anemia in pregnancy. 42 Screening is recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists early in pregnancy, with iron treatment if deficient. 43 Intravenous iron should be considered for patients who cannot tolerate oral iron or in whom oral iron has been ineffective at correcting the deficiency. 43 Patients with non–iron deficiency anemia, or if iron repletion is ineffective within six weeks, should be referred to a hematologist for further evaluation. Iron supplementation in the first trimester decreases the prevalence of iron deficiency. 43

INHERITED CONDITIONS

Pregnant patients should be counseled and offered aneuploidy (extra or missing chromosomes) screening in early pregnancy, regardless of age. 44 In the United States, 1 in 150 infants has a chromosomal condition, the most common being trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). 44 Table 4 compares screening tests for Down syndrome. 1 , 45 , 46 If a screening test is positive, amniocentesis at 15 weeks or more or chorionic villous sampling between 11 and 13 weeks is recommended. Both procedures have similar rates of fetal loss. 47 At 35 years of age, the risk of Down syndrome (1 in 294 births) is similar to that of fetal loss from amniocentesis. 47 Serum and nuchal translucency testing can screen for other trisomies, including 13 and 18, the protocols for which have lower sensitivities and higher specificities compared with screening protocols for trisomy 21 because they are rarer. 47

Additional genetic screening should be based on maternal and paternal personal and family histories. Race is a social construct, necessitating a shift in genetic risk stratification from race-based to ancestry-based. Sickle cell disease affects up to 100,000 people in the United States, but its inheritance pattern (1:10) is based on people with African ancestry, which includes much of the world. 48 Cystic fibrosis is inherited mainly by people of European ancestry (1:25), but ignoring the possibility of European ancestry in certain racial and ethnic groups results in an underestimation of its prevalence: African (1:61), Hispanic (1:40), and Mediterranean (1:29). 49

NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS

In the United States, neural tube defects affect approximately 2,600 infants per year, with the highest prevalence in Hispanic populations. 35 , 50 All pregnant patients should be counseled and offered screening with maternal serum alpha fetoprotein. 35 Folic acid, 400 to 800 mcg daily, started at least one month before conception and continued until the end of the first trimester, decreases the incidence of neural tube defects by nearly 78%. 35 Patients taking folic acid antagonists (e.g., carbamazepine, methotrexate, trimethoprim) or who have a history of carrying a fetus with a neural tube defect should take 4 mg of folic acid daily, starting at least three months before conception. 35

THYROID DISORDERS

There is no evidence that screening for thyroid disorders improves pregnancy outcomes. Thyroid-stimulating hormone levels should be measured if there is a history of thyroid disease or symptoms of disease. If the level is abnormal, a free thyroxine test helps determine the etiology. 51 Hypothyroidism complicates 1 to 3 per 1,000 pregnancies and increases the risk of fetal loss, preeclampsia, IUGR, and stillbirth. Hyperthyroidism occurs in 2 per 1,000 pregnancies and is associated with miscarriage, preeclampsia, IUGR, preterm delivery, thyroid storm, and congestive heart failure. 51 The effect of subclinical hypothyroidism on a child's neurocognitive development is not well understood, and the effectiveness of treatment with levothyroxine is unproven. 51

CERVICAL CANCER

Intervals for cervical cancer screening are based on patient age, cytology history, and history of the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). Routine screening for people at average risk of cervical cancer should begin at 21 years of age. Screening can be performed with either cytology alone every three years, HPV screening alone every five years, or cytology plus HPV screening every five years starting at 25 years of age. Screening is not indicated for people 65 years and older with negative screening in the previous 10 years, and no history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or higher in the past 25 years. 52 Colposcopy is indicated when the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 is greater than 4%. Surveillance of high-grade lesions should be performed every 12 to 24 weeks. 52 , 53 Although colposcopy and cervical biopsy can be safely performed during pregnancy, endocervical sampling should be deferred until postpartum. 53

Infectious Disease

Bacteriuria.

Asymptomatic bacteriuria complicates up to 15% of pregnancies in the United States, 30% of which progress to pyelonephritis if untreated. 54 All pregnant patients should be screened for bacteriuria at the first prenatal visit. 54 A culture from a midstream or clean-catch sample with greater than 100,000 colony-forming units per mL of a single pathogen is considered positive and treated to decrease the risk of pyelonephritis and subsequent preterm delivery. 54

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS

Sexually transmitted infections can affect prenatal outcomes. 55 – 57 Table 5 lists routine screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections in pregnancy. 55 , 56

Rubella immunity screening during the first prenatal visit is recommended. Postpartum vaccination should also be offered if the patient is not immune to prevent congenital rubella syndrome in subsequent pregnancies. 1 , 58 The presence of rubella immunoglobulin G should be interpreted with caution in patients recently migrating from areas where rubella is endemic because this may indicate a recent infection. 58 Rubella is a live vaccine and should not be administered during pregnancy but is safe during lactation after delivery. 59 , 60

Maternal varicella can result in congenital varicella syndrome (i.e., IUGR and limb, ophthalmologic, and neurologic abnormalities) and neonatal varicella; infection can occur from approximately five days before to two days after birth. A negative history of varicella infection or vaccination warrants serologic testing, and if immunoglobulin G is negative, varicella exposure should be avoided. Postpartum vaccination should be offered. 61

Although tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination is recommended for anyone in close contact with the infant, only antenatal maternal vaccination ensures increased protection against neonatal pertussis. 62 Pregnant patients should receive a Tdap vaccine beginning at 27 weeks to maximize time for passive immunity to the fetus through the placental transfer of maternal antibodies; vaccination is recommended in each subsequent pregnancy. 62

INFLUENZA AND COVID-19

Influenza and COVID-19 infection in pregnancy increase the risk of intensive care unit admission, preterm delivery, stillbirth, and maternal death. 63 , 64 COVID-19 infection almost doubles the risk of developing preeclampsia 64 ; therefore, initiating low-dose aspirin (81 mg daily) starting at 12 weeks should be considered. 5 Pregnant patients and their household contacts should be vaccinated for influenza and COVID-19. 63 , 64

GROUP B STREPTOCOCCUS

In the United States, group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of infection in the first three months of life; 25% of all pregnant patients are GBS carriers. 65 , 66 Screening with a vaginal-rectal swab for culture between 36 and 37 weeks is recommended. 67 Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis decreases neonatal mortality. Antibiotics are recommended when there is GBS bacteriuria with the current pregnancy, a history of a previous infant affected by GBS (e.g., septicemia, meningitis, pneumonia, death), or unknown GBS status and risk factors (e.g., preterm labor, rupture of membranes more than 18 hours before delivery, GBS in previous pregnancy). 67 Patients with GBS bacteriuria in the current pregnancy are assumed to be colonized and do not need subsequent screening. 67

Social Determinants of Health

Social determinants of health represent up to 80% of the factors that directly affect a person's health. 68 Physicians who provide prenatal care play a critical role in mitigating the burden that social determinants of health play on maternal-child health without compromising the quality of care delivered. 69 An increased burden from social determinants of health increases the risk of depression, anxiety, intimate partner violence, substance use, and food insecurity 70 , 71 ; therefore, universal screening is recommended early in pregnancy.

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY-RELATED DISORDERS

After the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of perinatal depression and anxiety have increased. People who are non-White, 24 years or younger, or who have 12 years or less of education, lower socioeconomic status, or a history of intimate partner violence or sexual trauma are at higher risk. 11 , 72 , 73 If untreated, depression and anxiety-related disorders increase the risk of preeclampsia, preterm delivery, IUGR, substance use, maternal suicide, infanticide, psychosis, and homicide. 11

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

Intimate partner–related homicide is the leading cause of death in the United States in pregnancy. Screening is recommended at the first prenatal visit and once per trimester. 13 Intimate partner violence increases the risk of miscarriage, placental abruption, premature rupture of membranes, IUGR, and preterm delivery. 13 Family physicians should be aware of the signs of intimate partner violence (e.g., frequent sexually transmitted infections, repeated requests for pregnancy tests when pregnancy is not desired, fear of asking a partner to use a condom), the effect of violence on health, and the increased risk of child abuse after delivery. 13

SUBSTANCE USE

Substance use during pregnancy increases the risk of IUGR, preterm delivery, stillbirth, fetal malformations, and maternal death. 74 The use of prescription opioids complicates 7% of pregnancies in the United States; of these, 20% of patients report misuse. 75 Opioid use in pregnancy increased by 131% from 2010 to 2017 in the United States, and the incidence of babies born with withdrawal symptoms in that time increased by 82%. 76 Fetal alcohol exposure is the leading cause of preventable neurodevelopmental disorders in the United States. 14 However, 14% of pregnant patients report current drinking, and 5% report binge drinking in the past 30 days. 77 Exposure to cigarette smoking in utero increases the risk of sudden intrauterine and infant death. 15

FOOD INSECURITY

Maternal food insecurity increases the risk of poor outcomes (e.g., IUGR, preterm delivery, gestational diabetes, hypertension, depression, anxiety). However, few patients disclose this due to concerns about social stigma; therefore, a universal approach to screening is encouraged. The Hunger Vital Sign tool may be used. 12

Complications of Pregnancy

Gestational diabetes.

Gestational diabetes complicates up to 14% of U.S. pregnancies, with up to 67% of patients developing type 2 diabetes later in life. 78 Racial and ethnic minorities are at the highest risk. 79 Gestational diabetes is associated with hypertension, macrosomia, shoulder dystocia, and cesarean deliveries. 80 Screening for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes at the initial prenatal visit is recommended for people at increased risk 80 ( Table 6 5 , 80 ) . Universal screening for gestational diabetes should occur between 24 and 28 weeks with a one-hour (50-g) glucose tolerance test and, if results are abnormal, should be followed by a confirmatory, fasting, three-hour (100-g) test. 80

HYPERTENSION

Blood pressure should be monitored at each prenatal visit, and education should be provided on preeclampsia warning signs. 5 Patients at increased risk of preeclampsia should be screened for thrombocytopenia, transaminitis, and renal insufficiency, including proteinuria, during the first or second trimester and started on prophylactic daily low-dose aspirin (81 mg) between 12 and 16 weeks 5 , 85 ( Table 6 5 , 80 ) . [Updated] Screening for proteinuria in isolation has little predictive value for detecting preeclampsia. 5 Chronic hypertension (hypertension before 20 weeks) is treated to less than 140/90 mm Hg. 81

PRETERM DELIVERY

Preterm delivery (between 20 and 37 weeks) is a significant cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality, complicating 10.5% of U.S. pregnancies. 2 Modifiable risk factors include prepregnancy BMI (less than 18.5 kg per m 2 and greater than 25 kg per m 2 ), substance use, and short interval between pregnancies (i.e., less than 18 months). 82 Several options are available for the prevention of preterm labor in a singleton pregnancy. 82 Patients with a previous preterm delivery before 34 weeks should have a cervical length assessment starting at 16 weeks through 24 weeks. 82 These patients should be treated with progesterone supplementation (vaginal or intramuscular). In the asymptomatic patient with a short cervix and without a history of spontaneous birth before 34 weeks, vaginal progesterone (200 mg) started between 16 and 20 weeks and continued through 36 weeks is recommended. 82

POST-TERM DELIVERY

Stillbirth complicates 3 per 1,000 post-term (42 weeks or greater) pregnancies. 20 Antenatal testing should be initiated at 41 weeks; if the results are not reassuring, induction of labor is recommended. 20 , 21

Cultural Considerations

Maternity care improves outcomes; however, vulnerable populations (i.e., racial, ethnic, and religious minorities) are less likely to engage in care if it is not culturally centered, which acknowledges the effect of culture on health conditions (e.g., depression) and enhances patient-physician trust. 83 Addressing cultural needs (e.g., doula, community health workers, interpreters) throughout pregnancy helps mitigate barriers and improves outcomes.

This article updates previous articles on this topic by Zolotor and Carlough 1 ; Kirkham, et al. 17 ; and Kirkham, et al. 84

Data Sources: A search was completed using the key terms prenatal care, COVID-19, oral health, pelvic examination, prepregnancy body mass index, pregnancy dating and ultrasound, maternal and paternal age and impact on pregnancy outcomes, aneuploidy screening, inheritance patterns of sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis, anemia, cell-free DNA analysis, thyroid disease, cervical cancer screening, management of abnormal cervical cytology, screening guidelines for sexually transmitted infections in pregnancy, group B Streptococcus screening, social determinants of health and prenatal outcomes, intimate partner violence, polysubstance abuse, food insecurity, maternity care deserts, hypertension in pregnancy, progesterone for preterm birth prevention, post-term delivery, and preconception care. Also searched were PubMed, Essential Evidence Plus, the Cochrane database, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Cancer Society, American Family Physician , and reference lists of retrieved articles. Search dates: July 1, 2022; February 19, 2023; and June 16, 2023.

Zolotor AJ, Carlough MC. Update on prenatal care. Am Fam Physician. 2014;89(3):199-208.

Osterman MJK, Hamilton BE, Martin JA, et al. Births: final data for 2021. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2023;72(1):1-53.

Peahl AF, Zahn CM, Turrentine M, et al. The Michigan Plan for appropriate tailored healthcare in pregnancy prenatal care recommendations. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;138(4):593-602.

Superville SS, Siccardi MA. Leopold maneuvers. StatPearls . StatPearls Publishing. February 19, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560814

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Gestational hypertension and preeclampsia: practice bulletin, no. 222. Obstet Gynecol. 2020;135(6):e237-e260.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Obesity in pregnancy: practice bulletin, no. 230. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;137(6):e128-e144.

Nannan M, Xiaoping L, Ying J. Periodontal disease in pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes: progress in related mechanisms and management strategies. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022;9:963956.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Antenatal care. August 19, 2021. Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng201

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Ultrasound in pregnancy: practice bulletin, no. 175. Obstet Gynecol. 2016;128(6):e241-e256.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Methods for estimating due date: committee opinion, no. 700. Obstet Gynecol. 2017;129(5):e150-e154.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Screening and diagnosis on mental health conditions during pregnancy and postpartum: practice guideline, no. 4. Obstet Gynecol. 2023;141(6):1232-1261.

Dolin CD, Compher CC, Oh JK, et al. Pregnant and hungry: addressing food insecurity in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2021;3(4):100378.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Intimate partner violence: ACOG committee opinion, no. 518. Obstet Gynecol. 2012;119(2 pt 1):412-417.

Ethen MK, Ramadhani TA, Scheuerle AE; National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Alcohol consumption by women before and during pregnancy. Matern Child Health J. 2009;13(2):274-285.

Bednarczuk N, Milner A, Greenough A. The role of maternal smoking in sudden fetal and infant death pathogenesis. Front Neurol. 2020;11:586068.

Krist AH, Davidson KW, Mangione CM; US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for unhealthy drug use: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2020;323(22):2301-2309.

Kirkham C, Harris S, Grzybowski S. Prenatal care: part I. General prenatal care and counseling issues. Am Fam Physician. 2005;71(7):1307-1316.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Smoking cessation during pregnancy: committee opinion, no. 721. Obstet Gynecol. 2017;130(4):1.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Opioid use and opioid use disorder in pregnancy: committee opinion, no. 711. Obstet Gynecol. 2017;130(2):e81-e94.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Obstetric Practice; Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Indications for outpatient antenatal fetal surveillance: committee opinion, no. 828. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;137(6):e177-e197.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Obstetric Practice; Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Medically indicated late-preterm and early-term deliveries: committee opinion, no. 831. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;138(1):e35-e39.

Grobman WA, Rice MM, Reddy UM; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal–Fetal Medicine Units Network. Labor induction vs. expectant management in low-risk nulliparous women. N Engl J Med. 2018;379(6):513-523.

Meek JY, Noble L; Section on Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics. 2022;150(1):e2022057988.

Norman JE, Heazell AEP, Rodriguez A; AFFIRM investigators. Awareness of fetal movements and care package to reduce fetal mortality (AFFIRM) [published correction appears in Lancet . 2020; 396(10259): 1334]. Lancet. 2018;392(10158):1629-1638.

Haghighi MM, Wright CY, Ayer J; Climate Change and Heat-Health Study Group. Impacts of high environmental temperatures on congenital anomalies. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(9):4910.

Shah-Kulkarni S, Lee S, Jeong KS, et al. Prenatal exposure to mixtures of heavy metals and neurodevelopment in infants at 6 months. Environ Res. 2020;182:109122.

Yoon I, Slesinger TL. Radiation exposure in pregnancy. StatPearls . May 8, 2022. Accessed October 18, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551690

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Solvents – reproductive health. May 1, 2023. Accessed October 18, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/solvents.html

ACOG committee opinion, no. 733. Employment considerations during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Obstet Gynecol. 2018;131(4):e115-e123.

ACOG committee opinion, no. 754. The utility of and indications for routine pelvic examination. Obstet Gynecol. 2018;132(4):e174-e180.

Lee SJ, Thomas J. Antenatal breast examination for promoting breast-feeding. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008(3):CD006064.

Oeffinger KC, Fontham ET, Etzioni R; American Cancer Society. Breast cancer screening for women at average risk: 2015 guideline update from the American Cancer Society [published correction appears in JAMA . 2016; 315(13): 1406]. JAMA. 2015;314(15):1599-1614.

Ngan TT, Nguyen NTQ, Van Minh H, et al. Effectiveness of clinical breast examination as a ‘stand-alone’ screening modality: an overview of systematic reviews. BMC Cancer. 2020;20(1):1070.

MedlinePlus. Eating right during pregnancy. November 21, 2022. Accessed October 18, 2022. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000584.htm

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Neural tube defects: ACOG practice bulletin, no. 187. Obstet Gynecol. 2017;130(6):e279-e290.

Driscoll AK, Gregory ECW. Prepregnancy body mass index and infant outcomes by race and Hispanic origin: United States, 2020. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2021;70(16):1-8.

Pregnancy at age 35 years or older: ACOG obstetric care consensus, no. 11 [published correction appears in Obstet Gynecol . 2023; 141(5): 1030]. Obstet Gynecol. 2022;140(2):348-366.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Committee opinion, no. 700: methods for estimating the due date. Obstet Gynecol. 2017;129(5):e150-e154.

Kaelin Agten A, Xia J, Servante JA, et al. Routine ultrasound for fetal assessment before 24 weeks' gestation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021(8):CD014698.

Henrichs J, Verfaille V, Jellema P; IRIS study group. Effectiveness of routine third trimester ultrasonography to reduce adverse perinatal outcomes in low risk pregnancy (the IRIS study). BMJ. 2019;367:l5517.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Prevention of Rh D alloimmunization. ACOG practice bulletin, no. 181. Obstet Gynecol. 2017;130(2):e57-e70.

Siu AL. Screening for iron deficiency anemia and iron supplementation in pregnant women to improve maternal health and birth outcomes: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med. 2015;163(7):529-536.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins—Obstetrics. Anemia in pregnancy: ACOG practice bulletin, no. 233. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;138(2):e55-e64.

LeFevre NM, Sundermeyer RL. Fetal aneuploidy: screening and diagnostic testing. Am Fam Physician. 2020;101(8):481-488.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins—Obstetrics; Committee on Genetics; Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Screening for fetal chromosomal abnormalities: practice bulletin, no. 226. Obstet Gynecol. 2020;136(4):e48-e69.

Dar P, Jacobsson B, MacPherson C, et al. Cell-free DNA screening for trisomies 21, 18, and 13 in pregnancies at low and high risk for aneuploidy with genetic confirmation. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022;227(2):259.e1-259.e14.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins—Obstetrics; Committee on Genetics; Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Screening for fetal chromosomal abnormalities: ACOG practice bulletin, no. 226. Obstet Gynecol. 2020;136(4):e48-e69.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data and statistics on sickle cell disease. May 2, 2022. Accessed October 12, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/data.html#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States&text=SCD%20affects%20approximately%20100%2C000%20Americans,sickle%20cell%20trait%20(SCT

Boston Medical Center. Genetic screening: ancestry based. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.bmc.org/genetic-services/ancestry-based

Mai CT, Isenburg JL, Canfield MA; National Birth Defects Prevention Network. National population-based estimates for major birth defects, 2010–2014. Birth Defects Res. 2019;111(18):1420-1435.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Thyroid disease in pregnancy: ACOG practice bulletin, no. 223. Obstet Gynecol. 2020;135(6):e261-e274.

Fontham ETH, Wolf AMD, Church TR, et al. Cervical cancer screening for individuals at average risk: 2020 guideline update from the American Cancer Society. CA Cancer J Clin. 2020;70(5):321-346.

Perkins RB, Guido RS, Castle PE; 2019 ASCCP Risk-Based Management Consensus Guidelines Committee. 2019 ASCCP risk-based management consensus guidelines for abnormal cervical cancer screening tests and cancer precursors [published correction appears in J Low Genit Tract Dis . 2020; 24(4): 427]. J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2020;24(2):102-131.

Smaill FM, Vazquez JC. Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019(11):CD000490.

Workowski KA, Bachmann LH, Chan PA, et al. Sexually transmitted infections treatment guidelines, 2021. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2021;70(4):1-187.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bacterial vaginosis. July 22, 2021. Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/bv.htm

Brocklehurst P, Gordon A, Heatley E, et al. Antibiotics for treating bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013(1):CD000262.

Mehta NM, Thomas RM. Antenatal screening for rubella—infection or immunity?. BMJ. 2002;325(7355):90-91.

ACOG committee opinion, no. 741: maternal immunization. Obstet Gynecol. 2018;131(6):e214-e217.

Rubella vaccine. Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed) . June 15, 2020. Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501097

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chickenpox vaccination: what everyone should know. April 28, 2021. Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/varicella/public/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tdap (pertussis) vaccine and pregnancy. August 10, 2017. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pregnancy/hcp-toolkit/tdap-vaccine-pregnancy.html

Grohskopf LA, Blanton LH, Ferdinands JM, et al. Prevention and control of seasonal influenza with vaccines: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices – United States, 2022–23 influenza season. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2022;71(1):1-28.

Jamieson DJ, Rasmussen SA. An update on COVID-19 and pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022;226(2):177-186.

Nanduri SA, Petit S, Smelser C, et al. Epidemiology of invasive early-onset and late-onset group b streptococcal disease in the United States, 2006 to 2015: multistate laboratory and population-based surveillance [published corrections appear in JAMA Pediatr . 2019; 173(3): 296, and JAMA Pediatr . 2019; 173(5): 502]. JAMA Pediatr. 2019;173(3):224-233.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Active bacterial core surveillance (ABCs) report. Emerging infections program network, group B Streptococcus , 2018. May 19, 2020. Accessed October 12, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/abcs/reports-findings/survreports/gbs18.pdf?CDC_AA_refVal= https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fabcs%2Freports-findings%2Fsurvreports%2Fgbs18.html

Prevention of group b streptococcal early-onset disease in newborns: ACOG committee opinion, no. 797 [published correction appears in Obstet Gynecol . 2020; 135(4): 978–979]. Obstet Gynecol. 2020;135(2):e51-e72.

Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement. Going beyond clinical walls: solving complex problems. October 2014. Accessed October 11, 2022. https://www.icsi.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1.SolvingComplexProblems_BeyondClinicalWalls.pdf

Partin M, Sanchez A, Poulson J, et al. Social inequities between prenatal patients in family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology with similar outcomes. J Am Board Fam Med. 2021;34(1):181-188.

Compton MT, Shim RS. The social determinants of mental health. Focus. 2015;13(4):419-425.

Kuhrau C, Kelly E, DeFranco EA. Social determinants of health associated with intimate partner violence in an urban obstetric population. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2023;228(1):S110-S111.

Bauman BL, Ko JY, Cox S, et al. Vital signs: postpartum depressive symptoms and provider discussions about perinatal depression - United States, 2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(19):575-581.

Lombardi BN, Jensen TM, Parisi AB, et al. The relationship between a lifetime history of sexual victimization and perinatal depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2023;24(1):139-155.

Yazdy MM, Desai RJ, Brogly SB. Prescription opioids in pregnancy and birth outcomes. J Pediatr Genet. 2015;4(2):56-70.

Ko JY, D'Angelo DV, Haight SC, et al. Vital signs: prescription opioid pain reliever use during pregnancy–34 U.S. jurisdictions, 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(28):897-903.

Hirai AH, Ko JY, Owens PL, et al. Neonatal abstinence syndrome and maternal opioid-related diagnoses in the US, 2010–2017 [published correction appears in JAMA . 2021; 325(22): 2316]. JAMA. 2021;325(2):146-155.

Gosdin LK, Deputy NP, Kim SY, et al. Alcohol consumption and binge drinking during pregnancy among adults aged 18–49 years–United States, 2018–2020 [published correction appears in MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep . 2022; 71(4): 156]. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2022;71(1):10-13.

Diaz-Santana MV, O'Brien KM, Park YM, et al. Persistence of risk for type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care. 2022;45(4):864-870.

Bower JK, Butler BN, Bose-Brill S, et al. Racial/ethnic differences in diabetes screening and hyperglycemia among US women after gestational diabetes. Prev Chronic Dis. 2019;16:E145.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins–Obstetrics. Gestational diabetes mellitus. ACOG practice bulletin, no. 190. Obstet Gynecol. 2018;131(2):e49-E64.

Tita AT, Szychowski JM, Boggess K, et al. Treatment for mild chronic hypertension during pregnancy. N Engl J Med. 2022;386(19):1781-1792.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins—Obstetrics. Prediction and prevention of spontaneous preterm birth. ACOG practice bulletin, no. 234. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;138(2):e65-e90.

Gopalkrishnan N. Cultural diversity and mental health: considerations for policy and practice. Front Public Health. 2018;6:179.

Kirkham C, Harris S, Grzybowski S. Evidence-based prenatal care: part II. Third-trimester care and prevention of infectious diseases. Am Fam Physician. 2005;71(8):1555-1560.

Roberts JM, King TL, Barton JR, et al. Care plan for individuals at risk for preeclampsia: shared approach to education, strategies for prevention, surveillance, and follow-up. Am J Obstet Gynecol . 2023;229(3):193-213.

Continue Reading

More in AFP

More PGA Tour

10 of the best players at the cj cup byron nelson over the last three seasons, celebrating five years of sobriety, this pga tour star offers up a heartfelt message, cj cup byron nelson 2024 picks, odds to win and course history.

Check out the best equipment you can buy: Best drivers for 2024 | Best irons for 2024 | Best putters for 2024 | Best golf balls for 2024

Photos: Justin Thomas' transformation from amateur star to major champion

Rory McIlroy belts Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin' after 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans win with Shane Lowry

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans prize money payouts for each PGA Tour player

Most popular, 2024 liv golf adelaide prize money payouts for each player and team, these are the top 20 in pga tour champions career prize money payouts, lpga all-time prize money list top 20 topped by annika sorenstam, best golf carry bags for 2024, best golf balls you can buy in 2024, photos: historic st. andrews clubhouse reopens after largest renovation in 100 years.

Why Idaho's hospitals are having pregnant patients airlifted out of state

Since January, Dr. Stacy Seyb, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Boise, Idaho, has had at least four of his patients wheeled onto emergency flights and airlifted out of the state while experiencing severe pregnancy complications.

One of them was a woman whose water broke around 20 weeks into her pregnancy, putting her at risk of infection. In these types of emergencies , ending the patient’s pregnancy can be part of the standard of care. But doctors at the hospital where Seyb works say they have been forced to transfer patients who have these complications out of state to comply with the state’s abortion ban.

“This has become the new normal, which is sad,” he said.

Idaho bans all abortions, with criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or assists. The law includes limited exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of a mother, but there is no exception to protect her health.

After oral arguments Wednesday, the Supreme Court is now considering whether Idaho’s abortion ban violates a federal law that requires hospitals to offer emergency care to patients in crisis. Thus far, the justices seem split on that question, with some of the more conservative justices appearing to lean toward the state of Idaho, which has argued that federal law should not supersede its own laws on health care.

St. Luke’s Health System, which includes the hospital where Seyb works, filed an amicus brief in the case, noting that an abortion may be critical to protect a patient from nonfatal harms like loss of organs, permanent disability, severe pain or loss of fertility. It also said the ban forces patients to endure potentially risky out-of-state transfers.

Since Jan. 5, when the Supreme Court lifted an injunction that had shielded doctors providing emergency care, six pregnant patients at St. Luke’s have had to be airlifted out of Idaho, according to Dr. Jim Souza, the chief physician executive for St. Luke’s. Last year, the system saw only one such transfer, he said.

In a news conference after Wednesday's arguments, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, a Republican, questioned accounts of doctors’ transferring patients. “It’s really hard for me to conceive of a single instance where a woman has to be airlifted out of Idaho to perform an abortion,” he said.

“Our law is very clear,” he said. “It protects doctors, it protects women, it protects unborn children, and it ensures that the doctors can use a subjective standard if they believe that the life of the mother is in jeopardy.”

Out-of-state medical transfers can delay needed care and carry immense financial and emotional costs for pregnant patients, who may wind up far from home during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. The cost of the flights can exceed $10,000, and the transportation may also be considered out-of-network by insurance, increasing the share patients must shoulder themselves.

One of the most common complications is when a patient’s water breaks in the first two trimesters of pregnancy, according to Souza. Last year, the hospital system had 54 such cases, most occurring before fetal viability.

Physicians for Human Rights, an organization that has advocated for abortion rights, also filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case. It cites a March report for which the group interviewed several doctors who practice or practiced in Idaho, along with doctors based in neighboring states who received patients who were transferred.

Dr. Sarena Hayer, a physician in Oregon, described receiving a patient from Idaho who was gravely ill when she arrived by air. The patient was 18 weeks pregnant with twins when she suffered a severe pregnancy complication. The patient also had a history of kidney issues and had previously received a transplant.

Doctors at her Idaho hospital determined that one of her fetuses had died and her lab results were troubling. She told her doctors she “wanted them to do whatever they had to, including termination,” according to the report. But she was ultimately airlifted to Oregon. The following morning, she lost her other fetus too.

If the woman had started her care in Oregon, she would have been offered a termination almost immediately, Hayer said.

“What other medical condition can we think of that would require a patient who’s sick to get transported to another state for a legal reason?” Hayer told NBC News. “It just really feels unjust.”

“In a way, you’re torturing the women because you’re not providing the definitive care until you can say they’re at the brink of death,” Dr. Michele Heisler, the medical director for Physicians for Human Rights, said in an interview. “I think that’s the stake here.”

Doctors in Idaho also described situations in which patients with severe pregnancy complications were unable to leave the state to seek treatment.

Dr. Michael Schneider, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Boise, recalled a patient whose water broke around 20 weeks but declined to be airlifted out of state, in part because she could not leave her family. Expenses were another concern. The woman left the hospital, he said, then returned once she experienced contractions. She went into labor, but her fetus did not survive.

Over his decades in medicine, Schneider has learned that vulnerabilities for pregnant women are acute. On his first night of a residency at a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, a patient with sepsis died.

“That’s what keeps me up — that somebody’s going to be placed in harm’s way, or a transport is going to go bad and there’s going to be a significant injury to the mother,” he said. “It doesn’t get any worse than losing two.”

Bracey Harris is a national reporter for NBC News, based in Jackson, Mississippi.

Election 2024
Entertainment
Newsletters
Photography
Personal Finance
AP Investigations
AP Buyline Personal Finance
AP Buyline Shopping
Press Releases
Israel-Hamas War
Russia-Ukraine War
Global elections
Asia Pacific
Latin America
Middle East
Election Results
Delegate Tracker
AP & Elections
Auto Racing
2024 Paris Olympic Games
Movie reviews
Book reviews
Personal finance
Financial Markets
Business Highlights
Financial wellness
Artificial Intelligence
Social Media

Poland’s president becomes the latest leader to visit Donald Trump as allies eye a possible return

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump walks with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan in New York on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump meets with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan in New York on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump greets Poland’s President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan in New York on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Copy Link copied

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump met Wednesday in New York with Polish President Andrzej Duda , the latest in a series of meetings with foreign leaders as Europe braces for the possibility of a second Trump term.

The presumptive Republican nominee hosted Duda at Trump Tower, where the two discussed the war in Ukraine and Duda’s push to boost NATO members’ defense spending, according to a readout from Trump’s campaign. Duda, who has long expressed admiration for Trump, is also a staunch supporter of Ukraine and has encouraged Washington to provide more aid to Kyiv amid Russian’s ongoing invasion . That funding has been held up by Trump allies in Congress.

As he arrived, Trump praised the Polish president, saying, “He’s done a fantastic job and he’s my friend.”

“We had four great years together,” Trump added. “We’re behind Poland all the way.”

Following the almost 2 1/2 hour meeting, Duda said only that it was a “friendly meeting in very nice atmosphere.”

His aide, Wojciech Kolarski, also in attendance, described it as an “excellent meeting” of “two friends who reminisced on the time when for four years they cooperated while holding presidential offices,” a time that was “very fruitful for Polish-U.S. relations.”

FILE - A multicolor 10 Polish Zloty coin marking Poland entering the European Union is presented by the National Bank of Poland in Warsaw, on April 14, 2004. The finance minister in Poland’s pro-European Union government says the country is still not ready to adopt the euro currency. The finance minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Poland joining the eurozone, the currency union of 20 EU members, is not justified at this time. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz, File)

Duda is the latest foreign leader to meet with Trump in the weeks since he locked up the Republican nomination. U.S. allies across the world were caught off guard by Trump’s surprise 2016 win, forcing them to scramble to build relationships with a president who often attacked longstanding treaties and alliances they valued. Setting up meetings with him during the 2024 campaign suggests they don’t want to be behind again.

Even as he goes on trial for one of the four criminal indictments against him, Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden are locked in a rematch that most observers expect will be exceedingly close in November.

While some in Poland worried the visit might damage the country’s relationship with Biden, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. — a Biden ally and a major voice in his party on foreign affairs — said such meetings make sense.

“The polls are close,” he said. “If I were a foreign leader — and there’s a precedent attached to meeting with candidates who are nominated or on the path to being nominated — I’d probably do it too.”

Murphy noted that former President Barack Obama did a lengthy international tour and met with foreign leaders when he first ran for the White House. So did Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who challenged Obama in 2012 and whose trip included a stop in Poland’s capital, Warsaw.

Duda’s visit comes a week after Trump met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, another NATO member and key proponent of supporting Ukraine, at the former president’s Florida estate.

In March, Trump hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán , an autocrat who has maintained the closest relationship with Russia among European Union countries. Orbán shared a montage of footage of the visit on his Instagram feed, which included an image of him and his staff meeting with Trump and the former president’s aides in a scene that looked like an official bilateral meeting.

Trump also met briefly in February with Javier Milei, the fiery, right-wing populist president of Argentina who ran a campaign inspired by Trump , complete with red “Make Argentina Great Again” hats. Milei gave Trump an excited hug backstage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, according to video posted by a Trump campaign aide.

Biden administration officials have been careful not to weigh in publicly on foreign leaders’ meetings with Trump, acknowledging he has a real chance of winning the race.

While some officials have privately expressed frustration with such meetings, they are mindful that any criticism would open the U.S. to charges of hypocrisy because senior American officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meet frequently with foreign opposition figures at various forums in the United States and abroad.

Security and policy officials monitor the travel plans of foreign officials visiting the U.S., but generally don’t have a say in where they go or with whom they meet, according to an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss protocol.

Trump has been back in his hometown this week for the start of his criminal hush money trial , which has dramatically limited his ability to travel and campaign. While in town, aides have been planning a series of events that began Tuesday evening when Trump, after court adjourned, stopped by a Harlem bodega where a man was killed to rail against crime, and to blast the district attorney who made him the first former president in U.S. history to stand criminal trial.

Duda, a right-wing populist who once proposed naming a military base in his country “Fort Trump,” described the dinner earlier Wednesday as a private get-together between friends at Trump’s former residence while he is in town for meetings at the United Nations, where Duda is to deliver a speech.

“I have been invited by Mr. Donald Trump to his private apartment,” Duda told reporters, saying it was “a normal practice when one country has good relations with another country” to want those relations to be as strong as “possible with the representatives of various sides of the political stage.”

“We know each other as people. Like two, I can say in some way, friends,” said Duda, whose term ends in 2025.

Duda’s visit comes as House Republicans wrangle over a $95 billion foreign aid bill that would provide new funding to Ukraine, including money for the U.S. military to replace depleting weapon supplies. Polish leaders have been urging the House to approve the aid bill and ease domestic concerns.

Many Trump allies in the House are fiercely opposed to aiding Ukraine, even as the country warns that it is struggling amid a fresh Russian offensive . Trump has said he might be open to aid in the form of a loan.

One area where Trump and Duda agree when it comes to the conflict is a desire to push NATO members to increase their defense spending. Duda has called on fellow members of the alliance to raise their spending to 3% of gross domestic product as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine. That would represent a significant increase from the current commitment of 2% by 2024.

Trump, in a stunning break from U.S. precedent, has long been critical of the Western alliance and has threatened not to defend member nations that do not hit that spending goal. That threat strikes at the heart of the alliance’s Article 5 , which states that any attack against one NATO member will be considered an attack against all.

In February, Trump went even further, recounting that he’d once told leaders that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to members that are — in his words — “delinquent.”

Trump’s campaign said the two discussed the NATO proposal during the meeting. The two also discussed Israel and the Middle East, Trump’s 2017 trip to Warsaw, “and many other topics having to do with getting to world peace,” the campaign said in its readout, which described the men as “great friends.”

The visit was met with mixed reaction in Poland , where fears of Russia run high and Duda’s friendly relationship with Trump has been a source of controversy.

Poland’s centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political opponent of Duda, was critical of the dinner but expressed hope that Duda would use it as an opportunity “to raise the issue of clearly siding with the Western world, democracy and Europe in this Ukrainian-Russian conflict.”

Scislowska reported from Warsaw. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Zeke Miller and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.

Biden to speak about abortion in Tampa. Everything to know about Florida’s abortion laws

President Joe Biden will be in Tampa on Tuesday, April 23, to talk about the increasingly restrictive abortion bans in Florida and other GOP-led states. Meanwhile, his opponent in this year's presidential race is on trial in a New York City courtroom over whether he falsified business records to hide a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Biden's campaign, coming to former President Donald Trump's backyard this way, may be taking advantage of a perceived weakness in Trump's attempt to regularly take credit at his rallies for Roe v. Wade getting struck down while trying to avoid the backlash to abortion bans that GOP candidates have received in races since then. But he'll also be taking on Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis signed Florida's 15-week abortion ban in 2022. Then, while it was challenged and ultimately pushed to the state Supreme Court for a decision, he signed a 6-week ban passed by the Florida Legislature last year.

When the Florida Supreme Court ruled the 15-week ban was constitutional , overruling 34 years of precedent that had held that a privacy provision in the state constitution protected a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy, the more restrictive 6-week ban was triggered.

"When Florida’s ban takes effect, it will severely restrict reproductive health care access across the entire Southeastern United States, including neighboring battlegrounds of Georgia and North Carolina," Biden Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez wrote in a memo released Tuesday, adding: "Many women in the Southeast desperately in need of care will have to drive for a day or more to reach the closest clinic."

When the 6-week ban goes into effect, nearly all abortions after six weeks will be illegal in Florida. But, six months later, voters will have the chance to vote on a constitutional amendment to bring Florida's abortion laws back closer to what they were when Roe v. Wade was still in force.

Florida abortion rulings: A win for both sides, but voters have last say with Amendment 4

What were Florida's abortion laws before?

Before the 15-week ban, the Roe v. Wade standard had applied across the country for decades. Abortions were legal:

To the end of the first trimester (up to 12 weeks) for any reason
During the second trimester (up to 24 weeks) to protect the health of the pregnant person
During the third trimester if necessary to preserve the pregnant person's life or health

A full-term pregnancy is considered to be 39-40 weeks.

Protection for abortion travelers: Biden's new HIPAA rule shields medical records for out-of-state abortions

What abortions are legal in Florida now?

At the moment, abortions are legal in Florida up to 15 weeks and illegal after that .

The only exceptions are if carrying the pregnancy to term would result in serious injury or death for the pregnant person or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality. Two physicians must certify, in writing, that one of those conditions warrants the procedure. The physicians risk penalties for doing so. There are no exceptions for rape, incest, trafficking or mental health .

The 2022 law also redefined "gestation" from "between fertilization and birth" to "as calculated from the first day of the pregnant woman's last menstrual period."

Abortions in Florida: Now that Roe v. Wade is gone, here's what's legal and what's not

How many people got abortions in 2023? New report finds increase despite bans

Does Florida have a waiting period for abortions?

Yes. As of April 2022 , the state requires anyone seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours after an initial doctor’s visit before returning to undergo the procedure.

What does the Florida 6-week abortion ban do?

Under the new law, all abortions (with a few exceptions) would be illegal in the state of Florida after a "physician determines the gestational age of the fetus is more than 6 weeks," a time when many pregnant people don't yet know they're pregnant. People may have as little as two weeks after missing a period to find out and get both appointments at the state's overworked clinics, which leaves an extremely narrow window for a pregnant person in a potentially traumatic situation to take action.

However, while the law reduces the amount of time pregnant people have to get an abortion, it does provide some exemptions for rape and incest that the 15-week ban lacked, something that drew criticism even from some supporters.

When do most people find out they're pregnant?

According to a 2021 study from ANSIRH (Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health) at the University of California San Francisco, about one in three people confirm their pregnancies after six weeks, and one in five after seven weeks.

"Later confirmation of pregnancy is even higher among young people, people of color, and those living with food insecurity," the study's summary said, "suggesting that gestational bans on abortion in the first trimester will disproportionally hurt these populations."

Does Florida's 6-week abortion law include exemptions for danger to the mother?

Yes, but only for extreme cases. Two physicians must certify, in writing, that in their judgment an abortion is necessary "to save the pregnant woman’s life or avert a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function." One physician may certify it if another is unavailable at the time.

This requires physicians willing to risk possible fines, loss of license and even imprisonment to go on record against oversight committees and the state. Attempts by Democrats to clarify the conditions under which a physician may make that call without risking their medical license were struck down.

Does the 6-week abortion ban in Florida include exemptions for a fetus that has died or is going to die?

Yes. If two physicians have certified in writing that in reasonable medical judgment, the fetus has a fatal fetal abnormality, the pregnancy may be terminated. However, the bill included new language requiring that the pregnancy must not have "progressed to the third trimester," which could be interpreted to mean that abortions for fatal fetal abnormalities are banned after 27 weeks.

Does the 6-week abortion ban in Florida include exemptions for rape or incest?

Abortions are permitted in the case of rape, incest or human trafficking but only up to 15 weeks, and only if the pregnant person has copies of "a restraining order, police report, medical record, or other court order or documentation" to provide evidence that they are a victim of rape or incest.

If the pregnant person is a minor, the physician must report the incident of rape or incest to the central abuse hotline.

Abortion rights battle: Abortion rights inspire these young voters like no other issue. How they're fighting ahead of 2024.

Does the 6-week abortion ban in Florida ban abortion pills?

For anyone except licensed doctors administering them to you in person, yes.

So-called "abortion pills" — actually two pills, mifepristone and misoprostol , taken up to 48 hours apart — which cause a person’s cervix to dilate and their uterus to contract, emptying the embryo from the person’s uterus, have dramatically risen in popularity in the last few years both for the relative convenience compared to surgical abortions and to get around abortion bans. Access to them has been challenged and will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court .

The 6-week abortion law clearly states that abortions may only be performed by a physician in the same room. Telehealth sessions are specifically banned.

Can I go to jail for getting an abortion after 6 weeks in Florida?

Anyone willfully performing or actively helping someone get an abortion outside of the restrictions will be committing a third-degree felony, punishable by fines and imprisonment of five years. It is unclear if the pregnant person is also liable.

When does Florida's 6-week abortion ban go into effect?

May 1, 2024, 30 days after the Florida Supreme Court's ruling.

What would Amendment 4, Florida's abortion amendment do?

The proposed amendment submitted by Floridians Protecting Freedom that will appear on November's ballot reads:

“No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”

Fetal viability has been put at about 24 weeks.

For the amendment to pass it must win by a supermajority, or at least 60% of the vote. According to an exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos poll of more than 1,000 Floridians, half said they would vote in favor.

Share full article

Supported by

The First Six Weeks of Pregnancy, Explained

Florida is set to ban abortions after six weeks. Experts explain how that can often be before a woman knows she is pregnant.

An illustration of a pregnancy test with a person standing, peering through a hole where the results panel of the test would be. Floating in the background there are various cellular stages of egg and sperm that occur during the first six weeks of pregnancy.

By Alisha Haridasani Gupta

By the time a woman is considered six weeks pregnant, she would have had two weeks, at most, to realize it.

That’s because the gestational age of a fetus is counted not from the moment that sperm fertilizes an egg or from the moment you have a positive pregnancy test, but weeks earlier, on the first day of the previous menstrual cycle. This means that just two weeks after a missed period, a woman is six weeks pregnant, said Dr. Dawnette Lewis, director of Northwell Health’s Center for Maternal Health in New York and a maternal fetal medicine specialist.

That’s if someone has a typical menstrual cycle, which lasts about four weeks. But several factors — including stress, perimenopause and certain health conditions — can make the menstrual cycle so unpredictable that it could take longer than six weeks for someone to realize they might be pregnant.

“People come in and they’re like, ‘I’ve always had irregular periods and I just thought I was gaining weight’ and lo and behold, they are pregnant,” said Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah, a fertility doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of environmental and reproductive health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The question of how soon it’s possible to detect and confirm a pregnancy has come into focus as new abortion restrictions have been enacted in 21 states , including in Florida, where a ban on abortion after six weeks is set to take effect May 1, making it the third state to do so.

We asked experts to explain how the first six weeks of pregnancy unfold, and what factors might make a pregnancy hard to detect.

Weeks 1 to 2:

If an egg isn’t fertilized, the uterus sheds its lining. The first day of bleeding is considered Day 1 of a menstrual cycle. Typically, this bleeding lasts between three and seven days, Dr. Lewis said.

As the bleeding subsides, estrogen and another hormone, called follicle stimulating hormone or F.S.H., begin to rise. Together, they nudge the ovaries to produce a mature egg and create a fresh uterine lining for a potential fertilized egg.

At or around Day 14 of a cycle, the ovary would typically release an egg. If an egg is released and sperm is present, fertilization can occur in the fallopian tube a day or two after ovulation.

Weeks 3 to 4:

If an egg has been fertilized, it becomes an embryo, which typically travels into the uterus and implants itself on the lining. This can take around a week or more, Dr. Belmonte said.

Once this happens, the body begins producing a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as the pregnancy hormone. This tells the ovaries to hold off producing another egg.

At implantation, a woman would technically be considered about four weeks pregnant, based on how gestational age is calculated. But she would likely not have any physical symptoms of pregnancy, like nausea or fatigue. HCG levels may also be too low to be detected by an at-home pregnancy test; it is only detectable about a week after implantation, said Dr. Michael Belmonte, an obstetrician-gynecologist and fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

It is impossible to know if the embryo will keep developing normally or whether it even implanted in the uterus, said Dr. Mahalingaiah. About half of fertilized embryos do not end up implanting at all. In an estimated 2 percent of pregnancies, the embryo implants elsewhere, like the fallopian tube. This is known as an ectopic pregnancy and can be life-threatening, requiring medical or surgical intervention.

If you are pregnant, this is, roughly speaking, the earliest that you might be able to detect a pregnancy at home. If you have a regular four-week cycle, have missed your period and think you might be pregnant, you might take a urine test at home at the tail end of this week, which would pick up elevated hCG levels.

But there are several reasons to expect a period to be irregular and not think to take a pregnancy test at this point. Polycystic ovarian syndrome , which affects as many as five million women in the United States, can disrupt ovulation and cause irregular menstrual cycles, as can other endocrine disorders like thyroid disease. Significant amounts of stress in the first two weeks of your cycle can delay ovulation or menstruation, said Dr. Mahalingaiah, as can a bad case of the flu. Those who are in perimenopause, the transition to menopause, experience increasingly irregular ovulation as they approach the end of their reproductive years. This means that their menstrual cycles can change in length every month , often by several weeks.

Even if you did suspect you were pregnant around week 5, a health care provider would not be able use an ultrasound to confirm that a pregnancy is viable, because there would be no fetal cardiac activity yet. The pregnancy may also turn out to have been what is known as a biochemical pregnancy, Dr. Mahalingaiah said. When this happens, someone might test positive on an early home pregnancy test, but the fetus doesn’t develop further. This results in a pregnancy loss that simply looks like a late period. Some research suggests an estimated 22 percent of pregnancies end this way.

This is approximately when an ultrasound could pick up fetal cardiac activity, which can sound like a heartbeat. Some states require an ultrasound before a woman can obtain an abortion, including a medication abortion. Florida requires two in-person visits, 24 hours apart, including an ultrasound. The new law also prohibits telehealth providers from prescribing medication to end a pregnancy.

That timing, Dr. Belmonte said, leaves women with “a very small window” in which to confirm a pregnancy and obtain an abortion.

Alisha Haridasani Gupta is a Times reporter covering women’s health and health inequities. More about Alisha Haridasani Gupta

Pregnancy, Childbirth and Postpartum Experiences

‘A Chance to Live’: Cases of trisomy 18 may rise as many states restrict abortion. Some women have chosen to have these babies , love them tenderly and care for them devotedly.

Teen Pregnancies: A large study in Canada found that women who were pregnant as teenagers were more likely to die before turning 31 .

Weight-Loss Drugs: Doctors say they are seeing more women try weight-loss medications in the hopes of having a healthy pregnancy. But little is known about the impact of those drugs on a fetus.

Premature Births: After years of steady decline, premature births rose sharply in the United States between 2014 and 2022. Experts said the shift might be partly the result of a growing prevalence of health complications among mothers .

Depression and Suicide: Women who experience depression during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth have a greater risk of suicide and attempted suicide .

A Long Awaited Breakthrough: Scientists said they had pinpointed the cause of severe morning sickness — a discovery could lead to better treatments for severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

IMAGES

16 Weeks pregnant Baby #1 "Prenatal Visit Update"
Your First Prenatal Visit
16 Weeks Pregnant: Symptoms, Ultrasound & Baby Development
16 Weeks Pregnant: Symptoms, Baby Development, and More
16 Weeks Pregnant Ultrasound: Procedure, Abnormalities and More
16 Weeks Pregnant with Twins: Ultrasound, Symptoms, and More » TwinStuff

VIDEO

prenatal visit
Prenatal visit #pregnancy #pregnancyjourney #dailyvlog #familyof11 #prenatal #visit #memories
my first prenatal visit at the hospital @josephinambutu
Abortion, Not Prenatal Care at Planned Parenthood
Vlog 20 weeks and 1 day pregnant part 1
PRENATAL VISIT 30th WEEK

COMMENTS

Prenatal Appointment
Prenatal Appointment - Weeks 16 to 20. At this appointment your clinician will: Check your blood pressure and weight. Take a urine sample, if you have certain conditions. Listen to your baby's heartbeat. Talk about healthy weight gain, nutrition, and exercise during pregnancy. Your clinician may also: Check your baby's growth by measuring ...
Your Guide to Prenatal Appointments
Typical prenatal appointment schedule. The number of visits you'll have in a typical pregnancy usually total about 10 to 15, depending on when you find out you're expecting and the timing of your first checkup. In most complication-free pregnancies, you can expect to have a prenatal appointment with the following frequency: Weeks 4 to 28 ...
Prenatal Visit Schedule: What To Expect During Each Appointment
Size of your uterus Hands and feet for any swelling Prenatal Visit Schedule: Second Trimester Assuming you have a healthy pregnancy and no further examinations are necessary, this is what your prenatal visit schedule will look like during your second trimester: Four-month appointment (around 16 weeks) Five-month appointment (around 20 weeks ...
Pregnancy appointment timeline: How often to see your OB
There are also complications that may show up after you become pregnant, like pregnancy-related high blood pressure, which can require more frequent visits. Pregnancy appointments timeline example. Visit #1: 6-10 weeks. Visit #2: 10-12 weeks. Visit #3: 16-18 weeks. Visit #4: 20-22 weeks. Visit #5: 24-28 weeks. Visit #6: 32 weeks. Visit #7: 36 weeks
Your Prenatal Care Appointments
Towards the third prenatal visit, you're most likely around 14 to 16 weeks pregnant. You're probably feeling better and the most dangerous part of pregnancy is over. You are now probably feeling more confident in your pregnancy and sharing your good news. It has been about a month since you've seen the midwife or doctor.
Second trimester: What happens at your prenatal appointments
What happens at second trimester prenatal appointments. In the second trimester, you'll have prenatal appointments with your doctor every four weeks. Your doctor will recommend a variety of health and genetic screenings, as well as routine ultrasounds, according to the prenatal appointment schedule. During this time, it's important to ask any ...
16 weeks pregnant: Symptoms, tips, and baby development
16 weeks pregnant checklist Eat B1-rich foods. Vitamin B1, or thiamine, helps to turn food into energy and keeps your nervous system healthy. Your body needs more vitamin B1 in pregnancy to support your growing baby, but you should be able to get all the B1 you need through your diet without having to take supplements. Examples of B1-rich foods include:. Pork
Prenatal care: 1st trimester visits
Your next prenatal visits — often scheduled about every four weeks during the first trimester — might be shorter than the first. Near the end of the first trimester — by about 12 to 14 weeks of pregnancy — you might be able to hear your baby's heartbeat with a small device, called a Doppler, that bounces sound waves off your baby's heart.
15 Questions to Ask Your OB/GYN at a Prenatal Visit
Currently, the Institute of Medicine recommends the following for moms of multiples based on BMI: A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9: 37 to 54 pounds. A BMI between 26 and 30: 31 to 50 pounds. A BMI greater than 30: gain 25 to 42 pounds. That said, everyone's pregnancy will look different and that includes pregnancy weight gain.
How Often Do You Need Prenatal Visits?
Weeks 4 to 28 — One prenatal visit every four weeks. Weeks 28 to 36 — One prenatal visit every two weeks. Weeks 36 to 40 — One prenatal visit every week. Each scheduled visit on the timeline ...
PDF Guidelines for Routine Prenatal Care
Prenatal care visits. should occur with the following frequency: o Prior to 20 weeks, ideally every 4 weeks but no less than every 6 weeks for lower-risk women. o 20 to 28 weeks, every 4 weeks. o 28 to 36 weeks, every 2-3 weeks, 3 weeks for lower-risk women. o 36 weeks to delivery, at least every week. Urine dipstick.
Prenatal care: 2nd trimester visits
After 20 weeks of pregnancy, this measurement in centimeters often matches the number of weeks you've been pregnant, plus or minus 2 centimeters. Listen to your baby's heartbeat. At second trimester visits, you might hear your baby's heartbeat using a Doppler instrument. The Doppler instrument detects motion and conveys it as sound.
Prenatal Appointments: What to Expect
From weeks 4 to 28 of pregnancy, you will visit your OB/GYN once a month, so your second visit will be four weeks from your initial visit. Dr. Chisholm explains that if your initial prenatal visit was prior to 10 weeks, then your OB/GYN will listen for fetal heart tones during the second visit. ... 14 to 16 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments .
16 Weeks Pregnant: Baby Development, Symptoms & Signs
Your 16 weeks pregnant belly. At 16 weeks pregnant, you may now be at the stage where your bump clearly has a baby in there. Your weight gain and that of your baby have likely picked up considerably, and you'll both continue to grow. But all baby bumps at 16 weeks are different — and normal. Believe it or not, some women still don't ...
Your First Prenatal Visit
If you did not meet with your health care provider before you were pregnant, your first prenatal visit will generally be around 8 weeks after your LMP (last menstrual period ). If this applies to you, you should schedule a prenatal visit as soon as you know you are pregnant! Even if you are not a first-time mother, prenatal visits are still ...
Baby and You at 16 Weeks Pregnant: Symptoms & Development
At 16 weeks pregnant, you might be able to hear baby's heartbeat. See a 16-week ultrasound and learn about your baby at 16 weeks. ... You'll probably have a four-month prenatal visit around the time you're 16 weeks pregnant. As usual, you'll likely have a urine test; your OB will be checking your urine for signs of gestational diabetes ...
What To Expect at Your First Prenatal Visit
Normally, your due date is estimated to be 280 days from the first day of your last period. That's 40 weeks or about 10 months. But if your periods aren't regular or aren't 28 days in a ...
Prenatal Care: Prenatal Appointment Schedule
Weeks 6 to 28 of pregnancy: One prenatal visit every 4 to 6 weeks. Weeks 28 to 36 of pregnancy: One prenatal visit every 2 to 4 weeks. Weeks 36 to 41 of pregnancy: One prenatal visit every week or every 2 weeks. Some prenatal genetic testing and other lab work can either be completed within the limited appointment timeframe—or separately.
What to expect at your first prenatal appointment
Your kickoff prenatal visit sets the stage for the rest of your pregnancy. Here's what to expect at this information-packed first appointment and how you can prepare. ... (CVS), generally performed at 10 to 13 weeks, and amniocentesis, usually done at 16 to 20 weeks. CVS and amniocentesis are invasive and may carry a small risk of miscarriage ...
Prenatal visit schedule, plus how to prepare
Check your weight, blood pressure, and urine. Check for swelling. Measure your abdomen. Check the position of your baby. Listen to your baby's heartbeat. Perform other exams and order tests, as appropriate. Give you the appropriate vaccinations. Closely monitor any complications you have or that you develop, and intervene if necessary.
Stages of pregnancy guide: Trimester-by-trimester
Each pregnancy and delivery is unique and yours should be too. Learn more about how Vanderbilt Health's obstetrics and maternal fetal medicine teams bring together nationally ranked expertise and personalized care from your first prenatal visit to delivery and beyond. To learn more, call 615-343-5700 or schedule an appointment online. Learn More
Prenatal Care: An Evidence-Based Approach
Recommended at each prenatal visit beginning at 20 weeks; should be plotted for monitoring purposes: Prenatal ultrasonography: ... (81 mg) between 12 and 16 weeks 5,85 (Table 6 5, 80).
Kris Kim, 16, makes PGA Tour debut, follows LPGA mom's footsteps
Feature Vignette: Analytics. High-level golf runs in the family for 16-year-old Kris Kim, who will make his PGA Tour debut this week at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas. Kim's mother, Ji-Hyun Suh, played on the LPGA in 1998 and 1999, at the same time superstar Se Ri Pak burst onto the global stage.
Idaho's abortion ban is sending pregnant patients out of state
The patient was 18 weeks pregnant with twins when she suffered a severe pregnancy complication. The patient also had a history of kidney issues and had previously received a transplant.
Poland's president becomes the latest leader to visit Donald Trump as
Duda's visit comes a week after Trump met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, another NATO member and key proponent of supporting Ukraine, at the former president's Florida estate. In March, Trump hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an autocrat who has maintained the closest relationship with Russia among European Union ...
Florida abortion laws, bans, 2024 amendment, Roe v. Wade: What to know
Before the 15-week ban, the Roe v. Wade standard had applied across the country for decades. Abortions were legal: To the end of the first trimester (up to 12 weeks) for any reason. During the ...
The First Six Weeks of Pregnancy, Explained
This means that just two weeks after a missed period, a woman is six weeks pregnant, said Dr. Dawnette Lewis, director of Northwell Health's Center for Maternal Health in New York and a maternal ...

Prenatal Visit Schedule: What To Expect During Each Appointment

Prenatal Visit Schedule: First Trimester

What To Expect At Your First Appointment

Medical History

Physical Exam

What To Expect At Your 12-Week Appointment

Prenatal Visit Schedule: Second Trimester

What To Expect During Routine Appointments

What To Expect During Your 20-Week Sonogram:

Prenatal Visit Schedule: Third Trimester

What To Expect At Your Seventh- and Eighth-Month Visits

Glucose Screen Test

Group B Strep Test

What To Expect During Your Ninth Month

A Beautiful Pregnancy And Beautiful Skin

Suggested Articles

6 Tips For Finding The Best Maternity Clothes

7 Breastfeeding Myths & Realities

The Best Postpartum Care Plan For New Mothers

Appointments at Mayo Clinic

Prenatal care: 2nd trimester visits

Review the basics

Consider prenatal testing

Keep your health care provider informed

Products and Services

Mayo Clinic Press

Make twice the impact

What to Expect From Your Prenatal Care Appointments

Your First Prenatal Care Appointment

Your Second Prenatal Care Appointment

14 to 16 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

18 to 22 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

22 to 26 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

28 to 36 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

36 to 40 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

40 to 42 Weeks Prenatal Care Appointments

A Word From Verywell

16 Weeks Pregnant

Rapid growth

Recommended Products

⚠️ You can't see this cool product because you have ad block enabled.

What Other October 2024 Moms Are Talking About

Your First Prenatal Visit

What to Expect at Your First Pregnancy Appointment

Your healthcare provider will probably want to discuss:

Possible questions to ask your provider during your prenatal appointment:

Want to Learn More?

BLOG CATEGORIES

Share this post:

Leg Cramps During Pregnancy

Prenatal Vitamin Limits

Skin Changes During Pregnancy

Pregnancy Tools

Pregnancy Journeys

Pregnancy Week by Week

16 Weeks Pregnant

Key Takeaways at 16 Weeks Pregnant

Video Recap at 16 Weeks

Baby at Week 16

How big is baby at 16 weeks pregnant?

16 weeks pregnant is how many months?

16 week ultrasound

Pregnancy Symptoms at Week 16

Bigger boobs

Constipation

Forgetfulness

Dry, itchy, sensitive eyes

Glowing skin

What should you feel at 16 weeks pregnant?

Your Pregnant Belly at 16 Weeks

Should you have a baby bump at 16 weeks?

Tips for 16 Weeks Pregnant

Prevent acne breakouts

Update your bra drawer

Find a chair with good support

Pregnancy Checklist at Week 16

Prenatal Appointment Schedule

On This Page

Can I do virtual prenatal appointments?

First-Trimester Prenatal Care Visits