Going through your routine prenatal tests during your pregnancy is extremely important for an expectant mother who wants to make sure that her little cherub is healthy and safe all through his/her journey! Every prenatal test that you decide to get done will ensure that your little one stays in good health, and even if anomalies exist, they can be cured or corrected in time.
There are some tests in particular that you need to keep in mind when you decide to go for your prenatal tests.
Screening tests:
- CBC aka Complete Blood Count: The main purpose of carrying out the complete blood count test is because it helps to indicate the haemoglobin levels in one’s body and the WBC count as well. This further helps in determining whether the mother is anaemic/has iron deficiency.
- Blood Glucose: Helps rule out the possibilities of gestational diabetes developing
- Blood Group and Rh: Helps determine the blood type from the A,B, AB or O group and the Rh (positive or negative) of the blood type. If in case the Mother’s Rh is negative and her baby’s is positive, then the mother needs to be treated to avoid any kind of complications.
- Screening for Hepatitis: This test helps in checking for Hepatitis A or B since these too may cause complications in the baby’s health.
- Screening for HIV and other STDs: Helps rule out the possibility of sexually transmitted diseases.
- Rubella Detection Test: The test helps determine whether there were any previous infections of German Measles aka Rubella.
- Haeomoglobin Electrophoresis: Checks for Thalassaemia and helps avoid any further risks.
Urine Tests:
Urine tests are carried out to rule out any possibility of urinary tract infections.Scans:
Scans are more often than not performed by gynaecologist so as to make sure that your baby grows up healthy. There are three main scans that are performed during normal pregnancies:- Viability Scan: This scan helps confirm the pregnancy date and also helps determine the due date of the child. Carried out between week 6 and 9, these scans are also helpful when it comes to confirming the presence of foetal activity, the number of babies and the position of the foetus itself.
- NT or Nuchal Scan: Performed between week 11 and week 14 the scan helps to check any developmental problems or even chromosomal abnormalities that might exist in the foetus and ensures the normal body development of a baby.
- Anomaly Scan: Anomaly scans are essentially performed between week 18 and week 23 and check the growth of the vital organs in your baby’s body like heart, kidneys, brain and even facial features.
