Prenatal Care: Your Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
Prenatal care is when you get checkups from a doctor, nurse, or midwife throughout your pregnancy. It helps keep you and your future baby healthy. Prenatal care is an important part of staying healthy during pregnancy. Your doctor, nurse, or midwife will monitor your future baby’s development and do routine testing to help find and prevent possible problems.
Why Is Prenatal Care Important?
These regular checkups are also a great time to learn how to ease any discomfort you may be having, and ask any other questions about your pregnancy and the birth of your future baby.
When to Start and How Often to Visit
You can start getting prenatal care as soon as you know you’re pregnant. It’s actually best to see a doctor BEFORE you get pregnant — this is sometimes called pre-pregnancy care or preconception planning. But if that’s not possible, just begin prenatal visits as soon as you can. How often you’ll get prenatal care depends on how far along your pregnancy is and how high your risk is for complications.
Typical Prenatal Care Schedule
The typical prenatal care schedule for someone who’s 18-35 years old and healthy is:
- Every 4 or 6 weeks for the first 32 weeks
- Every 2 or 3 weeks for the 32nd-37th weeks
- Every week from the 37th week until giving birth
Your doctor might ask you to come in for check-ups more often if you have a high-risk pregnancy.
Where to Get Prenatal Care
There are lots of places to go for pregnancy care. Make an appointment with a doctor, midwife, or nurse for your care during pregnancy. Some people just go to their regular family doctor or obstetrician. Others choose to see a midwife or nurse practitioner who specializes in prenatal care. You can also get prenatal care at some Planned Parenthood health centers.
Some clinics and Planned Parenthood health centers can give you low-cost or free prenatal care.
Cost of Prenatal Care
The cost of prenatal care depends on where you go and whether you have insurance. The cost can also change if you need special testing or treatment. Most insurance plans cover the cost of prenatal care. If you don’t have health insurance, you may be able to get low-cost or free prenatal care from Planned Parenthood, community health centers, or other family planning clinics.
You might also qualify for health insurance through your state if you’re pregnant. Your local Planned Parenthood health center can give you information about getting health insurance coverage and referrals for prenatal care. Planned Parenthood works to bring you quality, affordable health care, whether or not you have insurance. If you’re worried about the cost of prenatal visits, your local Planned Parenthood health center can help you find health care that fits your budget.
Key Information at a Glance
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| What is Prenatal Care? | Checkups from a doctor, nurse, or midwife throughout pregnancy to keep you and your future baby healthy. |
| Importance | Monitors baby's development, identifies and prevents problems, eases discomfort, answers questions. |
| When to Start | As soon as you know you're pregnant; ideally, before pregnancy (pre-pregnancy care). |
| Providers | Doctors, midwives, nurse practitioners, Planned Parenthood health centers, community health centers. |
| Cost Considerations | Depends on location and insurance. Low-cost/free options available through Planned Parenthood, community health centers, state programs. |