HealthcareHow Regular Check-ups Contribute to Maternal Well-being

Being pregnant is such an amazing and wild ride! Your body goes through some crazy changes – it’s equal parts magical and uncomfortable lol. I know when I was expecting my first, I was like woah is all this normal?? Between swollen feet, nausea, insane cravings (pickle juice and oreos 4 life!), and just feeling anxious about the million things that could happen, regular checkups with my doc were legit lifesavers for my peace of mind.

Regular visits

For real, those prenatal visits are clutch for making sure you and baby stay healthy, catch any issues early, and give you confidence you’ve got this mama thing down! Here’s why I’d 110% say schedule those prenatal checkups and don’t even think about skipping them:

For starters, getting your weight, blood pressure, urine tested, and measuring your bump at each visit helps your doc track your progress and make sure you don’t have any of those not-so-fun complications like preeclampsia or gestational diabetes. I had a couple high BP readings early 2nd trimester which freaked me out at first ngl. But my OB was super reassuring, had me come in weekly to monitor it for a bit, and thankfully it was just a blip not full blown preeclampsia. You better elevate your maternal health with Obstetrician Specialist, Dr. Stephen Cole.

Regular ultrasounds

Speaking of babe, the regular ultrasounds they do are obviously the best part cuz who doesn’t love seeing their little nugget growing healthy and strong in there?? I looked forward to finding out the gender, then each visit seeing the little nose and fingers form, watching him move around – ahhh it made it all feel more real and helped me bond big time before he made his big debut. #coolmomtear

And TMI but checking your hooha for infections and other ouchie stuff down there is crucial too. Like yeast infections and Group B Strep are no fun but no biggie if treated properly. My doc also gave me tips on easing swelling, hemorrhoids (preggo life lol), etc which made a huge difference in keeping me comfortable-ish as I got bigger. Gal pals who didn’t get regular peeps at their lady parts really struggled so learn from my oversharing and just do it haha.

Now real talk – midway through when exams start getting a bit more hands on to prep for delivery, not gonna pretend those are a blast. But pushing past awkwardness and getting familiar with what your cervix even is can make a world of difference mentally prepping for your big day. The more you know what to expect and get questions answered ahead of time, the less anxious you’ll be about the nitty gritty parts of childbirth.

General worries

And of course discussing any weird symptoms or general worries with your doc at each visit will give you peace of mind or catch potential issues you might otherwise brush off. For me, bringing up my trouble sleeping led to tips that fixed it right away. Mentioning headaches and swelling lead to catching that early high BP thing. My random dizzy spells turned out to be low iron and were easily treated. So don’t be shy bringing stuff up even if it ends up being no big thing! Better safe than sorry always.

Then those fun prenatal vitamin refills, getting TDAP and flu shots at the right times, going over safe medication lists, breastfeeding prep if you plan to – getting guided through all the things during regular checkups makes a world of difference vs trying to remember it all yourself! It takes a huge load off your mind.

And last but not least – having your doc or midwife’s number to text/call about questions in between visits or if something comes up is priceless. Knowing you have a pro you can reach out to 24/7 takes so much anxiety away rather than playing Google MD and freaking yourself out webMD style.

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