Prenatal Checklist: What to Do When You Find Out You’re Pregnant

It happened – you got a positive result. While you’re jumping up and down feeling every emotion under the sun (wait— can you jump up and down?! Hint : you can), we want to start by saying: congratulations, mama. You’re pregnant!

As you simmer in excitement, your brain might be swimming with a hundred different questions. What do I do after a positive pregnancy test? How do I pick a prenatal vitamin? Should I tell my health insurance provider? Buy a pregnancy announcement t-shirt? With so much to do, where do you start ?

Like they say, baby steps. There are nine months to prepare for your little one’s arrival, and not everything has to be done at once. Sit back and put your feet up while we discuss a mix of fundamental and fun items to add to your first-trimester prenatal checklist.

#1 Call Your OBGYN

Giving your OBGYN and health care provider a call to schedule your first early pregnancy, prenatal checkup is definitely at the top of the pregnancy to-do list. We recommend scheduling your first prenatal appointment as soon as you get a positive pregnancy test result, as some doctors’ offices are booked weeks in advance.

The first visit is usually completed between weeks 6 to 8 of your pregnancy, though some providers may recommend one later. Typically, it’s action-packed with procedures like:

• Confirming the pregnancy – At the start of your appointment, you’ll give a urine sample to clinically confirm your positive pregnancy test results. While it may feel strange at first, peeing in a cup will become second nature soon, as you’ll be giving a sample at each recurring checkup. The lab will use the urine test to look for sugar, protein, ketones, and bacteria to ensure you don’t have a UTI and are at low risk for gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.
• Completing a checkup – Next, your doctor will conduct a general health exam. They’ll check your lungs, heart, and blood pressure. You’ll also receive a routine pelvic exam to ensure the health of your reproductive system.
• Labs and bloodwork – Your first prenatal checkup is the longest visit because of the tests performed to make sure you and your baby are in tip-top condition. In addition to that urine analysis, here are some other tests you can expect during your first visit:
• Carrier screening tests – A screening test recommended for anyone pregnant or contemplating pregnancy to see if you or your partner are carries for conditions that could be passed to your child.
• NIPT testing – Some providers may also recommend non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) to screen for certain chromosomal conditions as early as 8 weeks.
• Bloodwork – You’ll have blood drawn for a prenatal panel, which determines important information like your blood count and blood type (these help detect health problems or infections in your first trimester). It also includes a hepatitis panel to make sure you don’t have hepatitis A, B, or C.
• STD testing – Your blood work test also tests for STDs, like syphilis, HIV, and more.
• Pap smear – During your pelvic exam, your doctor will perform a pap smear to check for the presence of any abnormal cervical cells.
• A blood sugar test – There are important steps to take with diabetes and pregnancy. If you had gestational diabetes during previous pregnancies, your doctor will ask you to take a blood test to see if your blood sugar levels are within normal range.
• Seeing your baby on an ultrasound – The moment you see that little bean (your future baby!) on an ultrasound is easily the most anticipated part of the first visit. Most women receive a transvaginal ultrasound during their first visit to confirm a healthy heartbeat at 7 to 8 weeks. The ultrasound tech will also measure your baby from crown to rump ( CTR), which helps establish an estimated due date. Don’t worry, you have plenty of time to come up with a baby name and find some maternity clothes.

#2 Prepare For Your First Prenatal Appointment

For many women, anticipating that first prenatal check-in can feel exciting—seasoned with a healthy dose of jitters! To soothe the nerves before your first appointment, you might try:

• Reviewing your basic health history – This includes your medical history, mental health history, gynecological history, and any information about prior pregnancies. You might also do a little research into your broader family and genetic history as well.
• Check-in with your insurance company – Now is a good time to prepare yourself for what your insurance can help cover for the next 9 months of prenatal care, including hospital visits and testing.
• Looking over your current medications – If you’re taking prescribed medications or over-the-counter meds or vitamins, write down their names, dosages, and how long you’ve been taking them. You share this information with your doctor, and they’ll work with you to decide whether they’re safe during pregnancy.
• Writing down questions you have – Whether this is your first pregnancy or you already have a few tots running around at home, every pregnancy is different. You might be wondering when you’ll take a gender blood test, or even a common early pregnancy symptom to be aware of (like implantation bleeding). If you have questions for your OBGYN, jot them down or store them in the notes section of your phone so you can ask them at future appointments.

#3 Take Care of Yourself

While you’re waiting for your first doctor’s appointment, here are a few ways to take care of yourself to make sure you and your little bean are healthy and happy:

• Take a daily prenatal vitamin – There are many benefits of prenatal vitamins. They are full of vitamins and minerals you and your baby need throughout pregnancy (and even into your breastfeeding journey). When you begin your search for prenatals, be on the lookout for the following essential ingredients:
• Folic acid – This nutrient, better known as vitamin B9, helps prevent abnormalities in the brain and spinal cord. Look for prenatals that contain at least 600 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid.
• Iron – Iron is essential for the development of the placenta, which provides oxygen and nutrients to your baby. It also helps prevent anemia, a condition that occurs when you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body.
• Vitamin D – Vitamin D is crucial for helping your baby develop bones and teeth. Without enough vitamin D, the baby is at a higher risk of being born with rickets, which occurs when babies have soft or weak bones.
• Calcium – Another helpful mineral to include, as it also supports the growth of strong bones for your little one.
• Know which foods could be a gamble – You may have heard that it’s wise to limit your favorite sushi rolls during pregnancy—though the subject is still a hotly debate. Some medical professionals say raw fish is fine; others allege it might contain bacteria or parasites that could harm your baby.

#4 Monitor Your Eating

We all know pregnancy comes with some interesting cravings, especially in the first trimester. However, your diet is an extremely important part of your prenatal care. Pregnancy is a good time to focus on eating whole, minimally processed foods and well-cooked proteins (minimizing your intake of fish).

Foods you cannot eat during pregnancy is a hot topic, and there are a lot of pregnancy myths to debunk. While it’s not always easy to find a consensus surrounding the safety of certain foods while pregnant, you may feel safer familiarizing yourself with the ones that have historically stirred up controversy:

• Deli meats – Deli meats have come under fire as a potential pregnancy diet hazard, as they might contain listeria. This foodborne bacteria could cause flu-like symptoms resulting from an infection to your nervous system.
• Caffeine – Thankfully, you can still enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning to jump-start your day—but most gynecologists recommend limiting your total daily intake to 200 milligrams of caffeine daily. For reference, there is 40 milligrams in a can of soda and 100 milligrams in a cup of instant coffee.
• Unpasteurized dairy – Soft cheeses, like Brie, goat cheese, or blue cheese may also contain listeria bacteria, as referenced above.
• Enjoy some mocktails – Although alcohol is officially off the table during your pregnancy, that doesn’t mean you can’t take out your copper cocktail shaker and whip up a few healthy pregnancy mocktails! With fresh fruit juice and a variety of mixers, you can make a delicious alcohol-free libation that will quickly quench your thirst.

#5 Share the News with Your Partner (and Family)

A fun item to tick off of your checklist is telling your partner the good news—but what’s your plan of attack? Some women don’t hesitate for a second before handing their partner the freshly peed-on stick with a sly or excited smile.

Others plan to tell him with a surprise, like:

• Gifting him a “you’ve been promoted to Parent” t-shirt or coffee mug
• Buying him matching dad t-shirt and baby onesie outfits
• Sending him a “how to be a new dad” book
• Hiding the home pregnancy test somewhere you know he’ll spot it, like on his nightstand or by the Playstation controller

After telling your partner the news, you may want to tell your family and friends about the new addition. Some couples won’t do this until after the first ultrasound/prenatal visit or they pass the 12 week mark just in case of a false positive or pregnancy loss.

While preparing to share your big news, it’s also a great time to consider the disadvantages and advantages of stay at home mothers, especially if you’re exploring parenting roles and plans for your growing family.

However you decide to share the news, be sure to talk it through with your partner. It’s time to get everyone excited about your new arrival!

#6 Document Your Journey

One of the most exciting (and memorable) activities to add to your pregnancy checklist is documenting your pregnancy journey throughout the stages of prenatal development. It gives you a chance to reflect throughout your pregnancy and bond with your baby before they make it earthside.

Documenting your experience also gives you the chance to share your memories with your little one when they’re old enough. Here are a few ways you can keep track of your memories during your pregnancy:

• Create monthly journals of new experiences each month of pregnancy
• Write a letter to your baby to share with them when they’re older
• Measure your belly each month to track your growth
• Take weekly bump photos and make a flip book with your belly changes

#7 Simplify Your Prenatal Wellness To-Do’s with SneakPeek

From scheduling your first prenatal visit to documenting every step of your pregnancy journey, there are so many things to do when you find out you’re pregnant. Often, the more information you can acquire in those early stages, the more confident you’ll feel as you step into your pregnancy journey.

With SneakPeek Prenatal Wellness Tests, you can proactively put your worries at ease. The Gestational Diabetes and Vitamin D at-home tests let you keep an eye on your prenatal health to ensure yours is on track—without having to make extra appointments with your OBGYN.

You can submit your samples to our lab facility from the comfort of your home and feel confident knowing that your result reports are reviewed by an independent, board-certified physician. With an ultra-fast turnaround, you’ll receive a full downloadable report to share with your doctor by:

• Gestational Diabetes Test – 3 to 5 days after your test arrives
• Prenatal Vitamin D Test – 3 to 6 days after it arrives

Keep an eye out as this test will be launching soon! You may be anxiously waiting for your ultrasound appointment where you can finally find out if your baby is a girl or boy. Maybe you’ve even tried methods of gender prediction like the ancient Chinese birth gender chart.

Our early gender blood test can tell you your baby’s gender at as early as 6 weeks. The best part? Our test is over 99% accurate! We are so confident in our technology that if our test doesn’t give an accurate result, you get your money back. So don’t keep yourself waiting. Join over 1 million happy moms and check another to-do off your list.

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At SneakPeek, our commitment is to provide accurate, up-to-date, and reliable information to empower our readers. Our content is thoroughly researched, reviewed by medical experts, and fact-checked to ensure its credibility. We prioritize the well-being and education of our readers, and our editorial policy adheres to the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in all our articles.

This post has been reviewed for accuracy by:

Sarah Cacia

Sarah Cacia, currently leading as the Director of Business Development at Gateway Genomics, parent company of SneakPeek, brings an impressive blend of bioengineering expertise and clinical business acumen. Her extensive experience, marked by roles at renowned institutions like Genentech and UC San Diego's Cardiac Mechanics Research Group, underpins her deep understanding of biotechnology and clinical research. A UC San Diego alumna with a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering: BioSystems, Sarah's rich professional background empowers her to provide authoritative insights into the cutting-edge developments in the field.

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