I'm Pregnant - What Now?

Big news! You're pregnant. You've taken a pregnancy test or two and had positive results. Your head will be full of thoughts and emotions and no doubt you are wondering what to do next.

Take Stock  - Enjoy this moment, it's special and wonderful. Share the news with your partner and congratulate yourselves. Getting pregnant is no small feet.

Doctor's Appointment - Make an appointment to see your doctor as soon as possible. If you don't have one then make arrangements to register with one. Ask that your initial heath checkup (the nurse will do this if you are new to a practice), and your first appointment with your new doctor are booked back to back on the same day. N.B. Take a sample of your urine with you, they may give you a sample pot to take away if you go and register in person, but if not just take a jar or small container you can fix a lid too.

Calculate Your Due Date - You'll probably want to know your due date, or roughly when you are likely to have the baby. You can work this out by taking a note of the first day of your last period and counting forwards from there. Even if you think you are certain of the date you conceived the Doctor will calculate it this way. So for example, if the first day of your last period was 20th January and today's date is 8th February, you will be 2 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Clear Blue and some other pregnancy tests indicate how far you are gone but usually only in weeks, so 1-2 weeks pregnant. Your due date (DT) may change a little after your first scan which measures how the baby is growing.

Who Do I Tell? Some people share their news with their family and friends straight off. Traditionally couples wait until 12 -13 weeks when they have had their first Ultra Sound Scan and other tests completed before sharing the news. This is only because the first trimester (12 weeks of pregnancy) is the trickiest and when things can possibly go wrong. You may prefer to have your family and friends by your side from the start, this is a personal decision and one you and your partner should discuss and agree together.

Your Health - Dos & Don'ts - It's important that you take care of yourself, both from a physical and psychological level. Ideally, you should cut out all alcohol consumption and if you are a smoker to work towards quitting. Any recreational or serious drug use should be stopped immediately with professional guidance. There are also foods you should be avoiding which can cause harm to the baby and its development during pregnancy. The NHS has a helpful page on this, for further information follow this link. If you are an active person then you can continue to run, walk, swim, whatever it is you enjoy doing to keep fit. You may want to consider reducing weight lifting and if you do extreme sports to moderate these to avoid injuring yourself or exerting yourself too much. If you have been fairly inactive now is not the time to throw yourself into an exercise or diet regime. But gentle walking every day or swimming can be wonderful for the baby and for you. Building up your strength and stamina for birth is crucial - they don't call it labour for nothing! Ensure you get enough sleep and rest. You are likely to feel tired often. You may find your appetite increases, this is very common, try to avoid eating junk food with little nutrition. Remember whatever you eat is also all that the baby gets to grow and develop. So the occasional chocolate bar or crisps are ok but make sure you are getting enough iron and nutrients from fish, meat, and vegetables.

Vitamins - You may have already been taking Folic Acid to help with your conception, with the advice of your doctor you should look at switching to a multi-vitamin specifically created for pregnant women. Pregnacare is a popular and well-regarded brand that most GPs recommend. Pregnacare

Water - Your New Best Friend! Staying hydrated is so important for your baby but for you. Make sure you drink plenty and always have a bottle in your bag or car.

Your Finances - It is early days, but as we all know babies cost money. And if you and your partner are used to living off a combined income, you will need to consider your plans for maternity leave from work and how you will cover the additional cost of a new member to your family. If you don't work already, having a baby is still an additional cost, so together with your partner, you should start thinking about creating a saving fund and also look at how you and reduce your living costs. This might be as simple as switching providers to save money on your utilities. uSwitch is a helpful site which does this for you at no extra cost.