Your doctor may suggest a variety of screenings, tests and imaging techniques that are Routine Tests During And After Pregnancy. All these examinations are intended to offer information about your Child’s Health. In addition, it may assist you to optimise your baby’s prenatal care and growth.
Many regular health check-ups are done during the early stage of pregnancy, it includes:
Pregnant women are also tested for specific infections or diseases in the initial days of pregnancy, including
Few examinations are conducted later in pregnancy, including glucose screening and group B streptococcus (GBS) screening. Here, you must be wondering what GBS is? It is a type of bacteria that many people usually carry, and it can be passed to the fetus during the delivery. GBS can cause severe infections in some infants.
For instance, if a woman is carrying the bacteria, antibiotics are given to her during labour to prevent newborn disease.
Glucose Screening Test measures the level of glucose or sugar in your blood system. For instance, a high blood sugar level can signify gestational diabetes, which can cause significant problems during pregnancy.
For this test, you drink a unique sugar mixture. After an hour, a blood sample is taken and sent for testing purposes. If your blood sugar level is found raised, you will have another type of glucose test to verify the results.
Your general practitioner may ask you to take this test between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. This examination is usually done in the first trimester of pregnancy if you have a high possibility for diabetes or had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy.
Screening for congenital disabilities begins by evaluating your risk factors. For instance, early in your pregnancy, your obstetrician-gynecologist (ob-gyn) might give you a series of questions to determine whether you have risk factors. So, if you have risk factors, you may want to see a genetic counsellor for more comprehensive knowledge about your issue.
A trained professional in genetics can offer expert advice about genetic disorders and prenatal testing.
Mostly, babies with birth defects are born without any risk factors. But the possibility of congenital disabilities is much higher when certain factors are present. These elements include:
Screening and testing are entirely personal choices. For example, some parents would rather not know if they risk having a baby with a congenital disability or a genetic disability. In contrast, others want to know this before their child is born.
If you know beforehand, it gives the option of deciding not to continue the pregnancy. But, if one wants to continue the pregnancy, being aware of the future provides you with time to prepare yourself for having a child with a disorder. This means you can organise the health care program for your child whenever they need it. So have a word with your ob-gyn or genetic counsellor about your test results.
Rubella is also known as German Measles. It can cause congenital disabilities if a woman is infected during pregnancy. Through your blood test, whether you have been infected with rubella or have been vaccinated against this disease can be examined. In addition, you are immune to the virus if you had this disease before or were vaccinated against rubella.
The tests are done later in pregnancy include:
GBS is one of the bacterias that live in the human body. It usually does not cause severe problems in adults, and it is not an STI.
In women, GBS is mainly found in the vagina and rectum. It means that GBS can transfer from a pregnant woman to her fetus during labour. No doubt, this is rare and happens to one baby out of 100. It usually occurs when the mother does not receive antibiotics during her pregnancy.
However, a newborn’s risk factor is less when the mother gets the treatment.
Even though it is rare for a newborn baby to get GBS, it can be severe when it happens. However, a small number of children with GBS die even with instant treatment.
GBS examination is known as a culture, usually between 36 and 38 weeks during labour. A swab sample from the vagina and rectum has been taken to conduct the test.
If the results identify the presence of GBS, most women will receive antibiotics through an intravenous (IV) line once labour begins. This is done to help guard the fetus against being infected. Here, the best time for medication is during delivery.
To know more about the Routine Tests During And After Pregnancy and understand all factors affecting your Child’s Health, please get in touch with our team at We Care Health Medical Centre. CALL 02 6324 6688.
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