Pregnancy Guide – Week 7
You will likely go in for your first of many, many pregnancy checkups this week. You will have at least one checkup a month until your 30th week, when you start going every two weeks and then at the 36th week you will go once a week until delivery. Granted every OB/GYN is different, as well as insurance coverage, but in general you will likely have your first of several ultrasounds today. This will be to determine that you are in fact pregnant with a viable embryo. You will be asked to lay on your back or side (depending on the placement of your uterus) and at this stage you might have to lower your pants since your uterus is probably still pretty low in your abdomen. The tech or your OB/GYN will apply a gel substance, which allows for better conduction of the ultrasonic waves into your body, and begin to probe along your skin while watching a monitor to “see” you from the inside. As they will assure you, ultrasounds are perfectly safe for a developing embryo. While most OBs will choose to just do a topical exam over the abdomen, some doctors will choose to or find it necessary to do an internal exam instead, in which case they insert a wand probe into your vagina in order to increase visibility. At this stage your baby-to-be will resemble a lima bean with a small blinking light in the middle – this is actually the heartbeat and may be too faint to see at this point. Several measurements will be made to determine the biological age – to the day – of your growing baby, and thus be used to establish an “official” due date. The tech will also take some measurement notes regarding the placement and size of your cervix, placenta, uterus and other organs, most just as reference for later when you have your next ultrasound. 
You will learn your monthly routine today as well. Most likely this will involve urinating in a cup upon arrival, being weighed and then going to your exam room. You will be informed of “pants off” visits prior to those appointment (of which there will be several), but you will want to wear loose fitting and easily moved clothing because you doctor may want to measure your abdomen or perform a touch exam. You will also receive an overwhelming amount of information from your doctor at this first visit. With everything from hospital to pediatric information, classes available, and other health related items it can seem daunting. Just relax, and go through it over the next week or so. It is usually a sort of generic packet, so weed out what is pertinent to you and then formulate your questions to be prepared at the next visit. If anything strikes you right away do not hesitate to call your doctor’s office to get clarification on anything. Pregnancy is one of those situtaiton in life that knowledge really is power you want to be a genius!
Word of the Week:
ultrasound –noun Medicine/Medical . the application of ultrasonic waves to therapy or diagnostics, as in deep-heat treatment of a joint or imaging of internal structures. (www.dictionary.com)
