During pregnancy, a series of routine tests are carried out, and others are only carried out if there is a specific problem. There are tests that can be done at any moment, such as blood tests, but others require a specific moment of your pregnancy, so that the result is precise.  

Prenatal tests in the first trimester

In the first trimester, more in-depth tests are carried out in order to determine the status of the pregnancy. Some of these tests are repeated throughout the different trimesters, while others are only done once.  

• Blood test. During your first appointment, your doctor will request a blood test in which he will check, amongst other things, your levels of iron, red blood cell count, your blood group and RH factor, the existence of antibodies for certain illnesses and of course, whether you are pregnant.

• Urine test. The urine test is requested along with the blood test and will serve to check if there are signs of diabetes or a urinary infection.  

• Measuring your blood pressure. During pregnancy, blood pressure undergoes changes and it is monitored in all prenatal appointments.

• Internal exam. The doctor will carry out an internal vaginal exam to check the opening of your cervix. He will also take a sample of your cervix cells in order to do a pap test and make sure everything is normal and there are no sexually transmitted diseases.  Besides, if your pelvis is not too wide, she will measure you to make sure you are wide enough for the baby to pass through during delivery.

• Ultrasound or sonogram. In the first ultrasound, the doctor will determine whether there is a fetal heartbeat, where the placenta is, whether there is an ectopic pregnancy and she also checks to see if the date of the pregnancy corresponds with the baby’s size.  

• Triple screen or triple marker. This consists of a blood test that determines whether there is a risk of the baby having certain anomalies. The results are only a probability. In the event of there being a result that would indicate the possibility of there being a problem, further tests such as an amniocentesis would be required to confirm this. 

• Chorionic villus sampling. It is usually done if there is a specific problem that must be ruled out because there was already a genetic anomaly in the family, or the suspicion that there could be one. This test must be performed between weeks 10 and 12 of pregnancy.  

Prenatal tests during the second trimester  

Some of the tests during this trimester are a follow-up of those that were done in the first trimester, and others are tests that are done specifically in this trimester.  

• Blood test. In this month, it is important to rule out anemia, due to the increase in blood volume during pregnancy and the increased need for iron.  

• Urine tests. The main objective is to rule out urinary infections, that are very common in pregnant women and to make sure there is no sugar in the urine, or proteins that could indicate the existence of a dangerous illness, known as preeclampsia. 

• Taking your blood pressure. The doctor will take your blood pressure to make sure you don’t have hypertension, especially if you are having frequent headaches.

• Ultrasound. In this trimester, around week 20, you should get another ultrasound done, in order to check the baby’s development, the position of the placenta and the amount of amniotic fluid.

• Glucose test. In this trimester, significant hormonal changes take place that can affect how blood sugar is processed. This test serves to rule out gestational diabetes, a very common illness in Latinas.

• Glucose curve. It is a very similar test to the previous one, but longer, that is carried out when the glucose test shows an abnormal result. The glucose curve can confirm whether there is gestational diabetes or not.  

• Amniocentesis. Amniocentesis can establish whether there is an anomaly in the baby’s chromosomes. This requires taking a sample of amniotic fluid through the belly.  

Prenatal tests during the third trimester

• The tests during this trimester still monitor the mother’s health and others are doBlood tests. Besides the routine checks for iron levels, in this month your blood clotting capability is measured in the event of anesthesia being used in the delivery.

• Urine tests. In this trimester it is important to check that there is no protein in the urine, in order to rule out preeclampsia, sugar or infections.

• Rectal-vaginal culture. The doctor will take a sample from the vagina and the anus to rule out any type of streptococcus infection that could be dangerous for the baby.

• Ultrasound. This ultrasound is performed to make sure the placenta and the umbilical cord are correctly placed for delivery.  

• Biophysical profile. The doctor sometimes requests this test, especially if the baby is late. This test combines a registry of the baby’s heartbeat with an ultrasound. To determine the amount of amniotic liquid there is and whether the baby is moving properly.