There are a number of prenatal tests you will go through while you're pregnant, but the very first test you will take is the one that will tell you whether you're actually pregnant in the first place. To get off to a healthy start, it is important to know that you are going to have a baby as early into the pregnancy as possible.

Important Basic Test for Pregnant Women

1. Blood tests: This is to determine your blood type, Iron level to see if you're anemic, and Blood glucose level to check for diabetes

2. Rh factor: This is to check 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).

3. HIV, hepatitis B, and syphilis: These tests are important in order to avoid birth defects after delivery as well as whether you are immune to rubella since there is a tendency of coming down with this illness while pregnant, especially in the first three months of pregnancy

4. Diabetes: Between weeks 24-28, you will be screened again for diabetes because some women develop pregnancy-related diabetes, known as gestational diabetes.

3. A Pap smear: this will be done to test for early cervical cancer and sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhea

4. A blood pressure check: You will be screened you for high blood pressure, which can interfere with the blood supply to the placenta.

5. Ultrasound screening: This will help determine your due date more accurately, and also look for abnormalities in the fetus.

6. CVS: which is usually done between weeks 10-12 of the pregnancy, can be performed either by passing a thin tube from the vagina into the cervix to remove a sample of tissue from the chorionic villi which make up the placenta

7. At the end of the pregnancy, between weeks 32-36, you may be retested for syphilis and gonorrhea, as well as for group B strep (GBS), a type of bacterium that can cause meningitis or blood infections in newborn.

See Our Doctor

For pregnancy related issues and prenatal tests, visit Afriglobal Medicare Diagnostic Center at N0 8 Mobolaji Bank-Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos.

Call: 01-6291000