It is recommended to see an obstetrician for routine prenatal care. As soon as you know you are pregnant, call and make an appointment! Your first visit typically occurs when you’re around 6-8 weeks pregnant. 

After that, you’ll see your obstetrician once a month during the duration of your pregnancy.

We will take both a urine and blood sample. Be sure to come well-hydrated! Our nurse practitioner will go over basic information with you, make sure you are taking a prenatal vitamin, and answer any questions. Since your first appointment is so early on in pregnancy, it is unlikely you’ll have an ultrasound. Our goal in your first visit is to make sure you know what to do for the healthiest pregnancy possible.

The Complete Guide To Your First OB/GYN Appointment gives advice about how you can prepare for your first appointment. We want you to leave feeling confident, empowered, and comfortable about your pregnancy plan.

The first ultrasound will be at your second appointment or around 12 weeks.

Your physician, nurse, or midwife helps you stay healthy during your pregnancy by monitoring your baby’s development. Routine testing also helps find and present possible problems. 

The routine appointment schedule for a normal pregnancy is every 4 weeks until you are 28—30 weeks pregnant; then you’ll come every 2 weeks until the last month when you will be seen weekly until your baby arrives.

Most pregnant women can learn the sex of their baby during their mid-pregnancy ultrasound which occurs between 16 and 20 weeks.

• Folic acid
• Calcium
• Iron
• Vitamin D

It also might be beneficial to look for a prenatal vitamin that contains vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, zinc, iodine and copper.

Unfortunately, being pregnant doesn’t mean you get to avoid ever getting sick. Sometimes you can become sick more often during pregnancy because your body is focused on the creation of your baby. Cache Valley Women’s Center has created a list of medications that can be used safely during pregnancy. 

The type of exercise you can do during pregnancy depends on your health and how active you were before you became pregnant. It is not the time to start an intense, new workout routine.

A good “rule of thumb” is to limit exertion to about 2/3 of what you could do before pregnancy.

Regular exercise throughout pregnancy will help you maintain a healthy weight gain, reduce pregnancy-related discomfort, prepare your body for labor, and help you reach your pre-pregnancy weight following your baby’s birth.

Your uterus may contract off and on before “true” labor begins. These irregular contractions are called false labor or Braxton Hicks contractions. They are normal but can be painful.

Call our office or the provider on call if you experience uterine contractions before 37 weeks of pregnancy that occur more frequently than 6 to 8 times per hour and last for two hours.

Usually, false labor contractions are less regular and not as strong as true labor. Sometimes the only way to tell the difference is by having a vaginal exam to look for changes in your cervix that signal the onset of labor.

One good way to tell the difference is to time the contractions. Note how long it is from the start of one contraction to the start of the next one. False labor contractions are irregular and do not get closer together.

Labor itself is divided into three phases – early labor, active labor, and transitional labor. All women who deliver vaginally will experience all three phases of labor. When your cervix reaches the 10cm mark, you are fully dilated and can begin pushing your baby the rest of the way through the birth canal. After your baby, you will deliver the placenta.

One-third of babies in the United States are born via Cesarean delivery. Your baby may need to be delivered by C-Section for certain medical conditions, including:

• Heart disease

• High blood pressure

• Diabetes

• Kidney disease

• Any disease that makes vaginal delivery dangerously stressful to your body.

• Infections such as HIV or active genital herpes

• Your baby’s health

• A large baby

• Your weight

• Your age

• Breech position

• Multiples

• Placental problems

While you recover, the following things may happen:

• Mild cramping, especially if you are breastfeeding
• Bleeding or discharge for 4–6 weeks
• Bleeding with clots and cramps
• Pain in the incision

1. You can give birth vaginally. This is called a VBAC.
2. You can have a scheduled cesarean delivery

​For women planning to have more children, a VBAC may help them avoid certain health problems linked to multiple cesarean deliveries.

You may reduce your odds of tearing by practicing a 10 to 15 minute perineal massage every day, four to six weeks before your due date,

Any woman can become depressed after having a baby. New mothers may feel embarrassed, ashamed, or guilty about feeling depressed when they are supposed to be happy. They may also worry they will be seen as bad mothers. It doesn’t mean you are a bad mom. You and your baby don’t have to suffer. There is help. Please reach out to us.

Most women get the “baby blues,” or feel sad or empty, within a few days of giving birth. However, for many women, the baby blues go away after a few days. If you feel sad, hopeless, or empty for longer than 2 weeks, you may have postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression is common and occurs in 1 of 9 women after giving birth. You might feel unconnected to your baby and these feelings can be mild to severe. Please talk with your physician if you begin to feel sad and hopeless. We are well equipped to help you.

No. PPD lasts longer and is more serious than baby blues. Baby blues are feelings of sadness you may have after having a baby. Baby blues can happen 2 to 35 days after you give birth and can last up to 2 weeks. You may have trouble sleeping, be moody or cranky, and cry a lot. If you have sad feelings that last longer than 2 weeks, tell your provider.

Some normal changes after pregnancy can cause symptoms similar to those of depression. Many mothers feel overwhelmed when a new baby comes home. But if you have any of the following symptoms of depression for more than 2 weeks, call your doctor, nurse, or midwife:

• Feeling restless or moody
• Feeling sad, hopeless, or overwhelmed
• Crying a lot
• Having thoughts of hurting the baby
• Having thoughts of hurting yourself
• Not having any interest in the baby, not feeling connected to the baby, or feeling as if your baby is someone else’s
• No energy or motivation
• Eating too little or too much
• Sleeping too little or too much
• Trouble focusing or making decisions
• Memory problems
• Feeling worthless, guilty, or like a bad mother
• Losing interest or pleasure in activities you usually enjoy
• Withdrawing from friends and family
• Headaches, aches and pains, or stomach problems that don’t go away

• A hormone imbalance
• A tumor or cyst
• Eating disorders
• Alcohol or drug use
• Thyroid gland problems
• Excess weight
• Stress
• Brief menstrual cycle
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Polyps in the uterus
• Endometriosis or fibroids
• Scar tissue or adhesions
• Chronic medical illness
• A previous ectopic (tubal) pregnancy
• A birth defect
• DES syndrome (the medication DEC, given to women to prevent miscarriage or premature birth can result in fertility problems for their children)
• Abnormal cervical mucas

For men, we test a semen sample.

Women and men are each responsible for 50% of all infertility cases. According to the Center of Disease Control, around 10% of women (6.1 million) in the United States ages 15-44 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant. Learn more about Cache Valley Women’s Center infertility testing and treatment.