It can be very overwhelming when you first arrive to your doctor’s office for you first prenatal appointment and you see all of the lab tubes that need to be drawn for your prenatal blood work. However, it is very important that all of this is completed. Here is a little information about each of the tests completed and why they are important!
- Prenatal Blood Panel
- Blood and RH type
- Blood types: O, A, B, or AB
- RH status: positive or negative
- When the mother is Rh(-) and the father is Rh (+) an injection called RhoGAM is given to prevent antibodies from forming that could cause harm to the pregnancy (or to future pregnancies). This is typically given at 28 weeks of gestation.
- CBC: A Complete Blood Count that looks at many different levels but will include your blood levels and determine if you have anemia (low blood levels).
- Hemoglobin A1C: Diabetic screening that looks at your glucose levels over several months.
- Infectious Disease: Hepatitis B, HIV, Syphilis (RPR), Varicella (chickenpox), Chlamydia, and Gonorrhea.
- Rubella: Most women were already vaccinated in childhood. Therefore they are not at risk for developing German Measles or having it affect the baby.
- PAP Smear: Testing your cervix for precancerous/cancerous cells (if you aren’t up to date with your PAP).
- Genetic testing: Depending on your age and health history specific test may or may not apply to you.
As you can see there are a lot of different blood work tests that are standard at most OBGYN offices. If you have any high risk complications or chronic diseases, they may add a few more lab results as well.
Always ask your physician if you have any questions about your blood work!! Thanks for reading my blog- and make sure to check out my YouTube Channel as well!
