First Trimester Of Pregnancy
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First Trimester Of Pregnancy
Jay Goldberg (Obstetrician/Gynecologist, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) gives expert video advice on: How do I determine my baby's due date?; How do I alleviate my nausea during my pregnancy? and more...
What medical exams occur in the 1st trimester?
In the first trimester, the medical exams that typically occur are an ultrasound, a blood test to determine a generic panel that we draw, and possibly some genetic testing if you meet that match. Then we typically do a pap smear and vaginal cultures to check for various sexually transmitted infections and just the routine yeast and bacteria infections that are possible.
How much will my baby develop during the first trimester?
Your baby does quite a bit of development in the first trimester, and it's actually developing quite heavily before it's even detected on ultrasound. The baby is actually initially a plate, and then it forms a tube, kind of rounds itself off. That whole process takes place in the first six to eight weeks of pregnancy. So, there's a lot of development that occurs in the first trimester; in-fact, most of the development occurs in the first trimester. It's the second and third trimester where the baby is simply just growing in size, because most things have developed at that point and it's the size that's going to increase at that time.
What will happen at a routine exam during my pregnancy?
When you come in for a routine exam, at maybe 12 weeks, your doctor will then discuss with you the next visit, and at the next visit, they will say, 'Between 16 and 18 weeks, we typically do the following screening blood tests.' They describe it to you. When you come in at the 16 to 18 week routine visit, they then say, 'At the next visit I will typically do an ultrasound and look at the anatomy of the baby,' and they'll inform you at your current visit what to anticipate at the next visit.