Starting your antenatal care
Getting pregnant? Congratulations! Have you decided about which doctor to go to for your antenatal care and which hospital you want to deliver your precious baby? Call for an appointment with Dr Sharifah
You can book an appointment with your preferred obstetrician or your GP as soon as you know that you’re pregnant.
It’s best to start your care as early as possible so that if you have medical illness, your special health needs and risk of complication during pregnancy could be assessed and anticipated. Early ultrasound to confirm the date of your pregnancy can also be done.
How many appointments you will have
If you’re expecting your first child, you’ll have up to 10 appointments. If you’ve had a baby before, you’ll have around seven appointments. Under certain circumstances, for example if you develop a medical condition, you may have more.
Standard ANC visit schedule Before 28 weeks – monthly From 28-36 weeks – 2 weekly After 36-delivery – weekly
Your first visit and booking appointment
At this first visit, you will be given information about:
- Folic acid and other supplements
- nutrition, diet and food hygiene
- lifestyle factors that may affect your health or the health of your baby, such as smoking, drinking alcohol and use of alternative medicine or treatment
- antenatal screening tests
They will give you information on keeping healthy, and ask whether you have had any previous health or pregnancy issues, such as complications in pregnancy. It’s important to tell your doctor if:
- You’ve had any complications or infections in a previous pregnancy or delivery, such as hypertension or premature birth
- You’re being treated for a chronic disease, such as diabetes or high blood pressure or any other medical illness.
- You or anyone in your family have previously had a baby with an abnormality, such as spina bifida
Your subsequent antenatal visits: what to expect
The aim of the subsequent antenatal visits is to:
Check your wellbeing, detect and treated common illness during pregnancy such as
- Urinary tract infection
- Vaginal yeast infection
- Pregnancy induced hypertension
- Diabetes
- Anaemia
Check the wellbeing and growth of your baby. This is done by:
- Measuring the size of your uterus
- Ultrasound Scan for growth
- Ultrasound scan for fetal anomaly at 22 weeks
- Doppler ultrasound if your uterus size is smaller than expected
- Cardiotocograph (CTG) after 34 weeks
- Fetal Movement Chart after 34 weeks