Overview

At each prenatal visit during your first trimester, you'll be weighed and have your blood pressure checked. Your urine may also be checked for bacteria, protein, or sugar.

As early as weeks 10 to 12, you may be able to hear your baby's heartbeat using a Doppler ultrasound. By the 20th week, the heart tone is strong enough to hear with a special type of stethoscope.

Depression screening

Your care provider may ask questions about your health and your feelings to find out if you're depressed. Depression is common during pregnancy and after giving birth (postpartum). Experts recommend that all pregnant women be screened for depression. If it isn't treated, depression can cause problems during pregnancy and after birth.

Testing for genetic conditions and congenital anomalies

You can choose whether to have tests for certain conditions, such as Down syndrome. First-trimester tests can be done around 10 to 14 weeks of pregnancy. Options include:

• First-trimester screening. This can include blood tests and a certain type of ultrasound.
• Chorionic villus sampling (CVS). This test can be done to find certain genetic conditions.
• Prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening. This is also called non-invasive prenatal screening. This screening can tell you the chance of having a baby with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18, trisomy 13, and other chromosome differences. Prenatal cfDNA screening can be done around 9 or 10 weeks of pregnancy until the end of the pregnancy. There is no risk to the pregnancy because the test is done through blood work. This test is not currently covered by the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan.

Other tests you may have include tests for blood type, anemia, and HIV. You may be screened for hepatitis B, sexually transmitted infections, or thyroid disease. You'll also be checked for past infections, such as syphilis or rubella (German measles).