Hesperian Health Guides
Prenatal Care (Check‑ups during Pregnancy)
HealthWiki > Where Women Have No Doctor > Chapter 6: Pregnancy and Birth > Prenatal Care (Check‑ups during Pregnancy)
Minimum (3 check-ups) | Best (10 to 15 check-ups) |
As soon as you think you are pregnant | Every month up to 6 months |
Around the 6th month of pregnancy | Twice each month during months 6, 7, and 8 |
A month before the baby is due | Each week for the last month |
Prenatal check-ups can help you decide the best place to have your baby: at home, or at a health center or hospital.
A midwife or health worker will ask about past pregnancies and births, including any problems, such as a lot of bleeding or babies that died. This information can help you both prepare for similar problems in this pregnancy. A midwife may also be able to:
- make sure you are eating well enough and suggest ways for you to eat better food, if necessary.
- give iron, which helps prevent anemia, and folic acid, which helps prevent disabilities in your baby.
- examine you to make sure you are healthy, physically and emotionally, and that the baby is growing well.
- give vaccinations to prevent tetanus.
- give medicine to prevent malaria if it is common in the area.
- give tests for HIV and syphilis, along with other sexually transmitted infections.
- give medicines so HIV does not infect your baby.
fetoscope |
To check whether the baby is healthy, a midwife may listen for the baby’s heartbeat. It may be possible to hear it by putting one ear against the pregnant person’s abdomen, but it is often difficult to tell the baby’s heartbeat apart from the pregnant person’s. It is easier with a fetoscope. Another sign the baby is healthy is if the pregnant person feels the baby move every day during the second half of the pregnancy, including the day of the check-up.