What has happened before I’m 12 weeks pregnant?
If you think that you could be pregnant, you should go to your GP or health care centre so they can do a blood or wee test to confirm that your pregnant and do a health check.
They will yarn with you about your options for care, and you can decide if you want most of your pregnancy (antenatal) care to be:
- In the community with a GP and midwife
- In the community/hospital antenatal clinic with a midwifery group
- In the hospital with a midwife and women’s health specialist (obstetrician). This option is good if you need extra support during your pregnancy because of medical issues.
Your GP will also organise these blood tests:
- Full blood count – checking your red blood cells, which carry oxygen around your body and to baby. We check your white blood cells to make sure you have a strong immune system.
- Blood group & antibodies – knowing your blood group allows for a blood transfusion if you need it, and your antibodies show if you have special proteins that can potentially affect your baby. Once we know your antibodies, we can take steps to protect your baby if we need to.
- Iron studies – check your iron levels and see if you need iron tablets
- Rubella – to know if you are immune to German measles. If you got German measles while pregnant, it might cause problems with the baby.
Hepatitis B – if positive, your baby might need an infusion after birth, so it doesn’t pass to them - RPR – checking for syphilis, which could be passed to your baby
- HIV & Hepatitis C – these tests are not compulsory but are recommended. Both HIV and Hepatitis C can cause problems in your growing baby.
Your GP may also send you for a dating scan if you’re unsure how far along you are or when you got pregnant.
