Your healthcare provider is a hugely valuable resource for you as you head down the homestretch of pregnancy – make sure you get your questions ready!
Now that you’re within just a few short weeks of BABY!, you’ll start visiting your healthcare provider for pre-natal appointments once a week. Baby is considered near-term next week, so it certainly doesn’t hurt to see your healthcare provider with increased frequency. This will be another 15-minute visit, in which your healthcare provider will measure your weight, blood pressure, and have you provide a urine sample which will be tested for elevated levels of sugar and protein. He or she will also discuss Baby’s movement over the past two weeks with you, measure your womb to get a good read on their size, and take their heart rate with a fetal doppler. If they were still in breech position at your last appointment, your healthcare provider will also check to see if they have made any progress in orienting themself towards the proper, head-down delivery position.
At the week 36 appointment, your healthcare provider will also test you for Group B Streptococcus (GBS). GBS is a pretty common bacterium found in the body, and doesn’t make adults sick, but exposure and infection for baby could prove very dangerous. Your healthcare provider will swab your vagina and rectum and test the cultures for GBS. If you are GBS-positive, you’ll need antibiotics administered during delivery in order to make sure that Baby does not pick up the bacteria.
Reviewed by Dr. Jamie Lo
Read more
- Blood pressure during pregnancy: why you should track it
- Birth plans: delivery environment, pain management, and more
Sources
- Mayo Clinic Staff. “Fetal development: The third trimester.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 7/11/2014. Web.
- “Prenatal care in your third trimeser.” U.S National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus, 6/11/2014. Web.
- Mayo Clinic Staff. “Prenatal care: 3rd trimester visits.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 7/30/2015. Web.
- “Special Tests for Monitoring Fetal Health: FAQ098.” ACOG. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 11/13/2015. Web.
- “Fetal ultrasound.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 9/19/2015. Web.
- Mayo Clinic Staff. “Third trimester pregnancy: What to expect.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 5/5/2014. Web.
