FAQ

It depends. Visits in high school are often recommended, although your doctor will decide if a PAP smear is necessary.

Up to 300mg of caffeine daily is safe for most pregnant women. That is about one 8 oz cup of home brewed coffee. Coffee house brew is much stronger.

You will see your obstetrician about every four weeks until the third trimester. Then you will visit every two weeks until the last month when you have weekly appointments.

Some vaccines are safe and highly recommended in pregnancy. This includes the Tdap vaccine for pertussis (or whooping cough), RSV vaccine for Respiratory syncytial virus, and the influenza vaccine. Some vaccines should be avoided until after pregnancy but ask your obstetrician if you will need any additional immunizations.

An epidural provides very safe and effective pain control while patients are in labor. It is not required, but many women choose to use one during their labor. The decision to use an epidural is a personal one but your obstetrician will be happy to provided more input about pain control options.

The thought of labor can bring anxiety to many parents, especially the first timers. The good news is, labor is hard to miss! If your pregnancy is full term, meaning 37 weeks or more, you should watch for contractions which are when your uterus slowly tightens and then releases over about 30 seconds to a minute. If the contractions are painful and recurring, start to time them from the start of one contraction to the start of the next. Once you have a contraction about every five minutes for at least an hour, then it is time to call your obstetrician!