It is extremely important to be careful during pregnancy for the sake of the child. Many women are opting for Prenatal Tests during pregnancy. It is a wise step in order to make sure their baby is healthy. And to ensure that there are no complications whatsoever. Here are a few pregnancy test a woman must take.
A blood test is one of the firsts tests you can take. Some women instinctively know that they are pregnant and some just skip their period and go get a test. The drugstore test works fine when you want to just confirm a doubt. But the tests aren’t always clear, and can be incorrect some time. That’s why going to the clinic and doing a blood test is required to confirm the pregnancy.
This test helps you find a lot of things, and lets your doctor decide what care you need during your term. The test determines your blood type, your iron level to see if you’re anemic, and your blood glucose level to check for diabetes. It will also check your Rh factor. If your blood is Rh negative, and the father’s is Rh positive, the fetus may inherit the father’s Rh-positive blood, which could cause your body to make antibodies that would hurt your unborn child. You will also be tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and Syphilis.
Ultrasound tests help to determine the state of the fetus, and to accurately predict the due date of the baby. During the 8-18 week period women get their blood tested again to measure blood sugar levels, feto protein and estriol. There is another blood test – PAPPA (pregnancy-associated plasma protein A), conducted during weeks 10-14 of the pregnancy. It happens, in cases when the women are at a risk of having a baby with chromosomal abnormality.
