All About Your First Doctor Appointment After Positive Pregnancy Test

Once you see those two lines on your test and the news starts to sink in, you’re probably wondering about your first doctor appointment after positive pregnancy test! I definitely was, so I’m sharing my entire experience from positive test to 8 week appointment.

It can be a mix of exciting and overwhelming to be figuring out everything surrounding your first doctor appointment after positive pregnancy test. Especially if it’s your first pregnancy!

I had so many questions before going into it! They don’t really tell you all that much about it, so I felt a bit clueless about when to call, what to do during the wait, and what even happens at that first appointment.

Going over my entire experience and any questions I had so that hopefully I can answer any of yours and ease some of that overwhelm and anxiety before your first doctor appointment after positive pregnancy test.

This post is all about your first doctor appointment after positive pregnancy test.

Let’s Dive Into All Things Your First Doctor Appointment After Positive Pregnancy Test

Before we go any further, I do want to share that we were fortunate enough for everything to go perfectly normal at our first doctor appointment and ultrasound. Baby was measuring normal, we saw a strong heartbeat, and everything was all good. So this is for a routine first prenatal appointment and first ultrasound. I pray each of you has the same experience!

Also – I refer to my baby as a he because at this point (30 weeks) I know we’re having a boy! But at the time of this 8 week appointment I did not know.

I did feel like I had some questions already answered like about the medications I was on prior to getting pregnant and a few other things, I share more about that in my My Preconception Appointment Experience post, if you’d like to give that a read!

When To Call Doctor After Positive Pregnancy Test?

There’s no right or wrong here, in my opinion, but my personal experience might give you a good idea about when to call.

At 8DPO I got my first positive test, it was faint, but it was positive. At 9DPO I took around 6 or so pregnancy tests, and all were clearly positive, including a digital test that read those magical words back to me “pregnant”. Important to note – I hadn’t missed my period yet, and was a handful of days away from when I would. But I knew at that point I was 100% pregnant.

I told my husband that day, and immediately after called my OB-GYN, who I already had established care with.

I called, not totally sure what to say, and said how I just found out I was pregnant and wanted to schedule my first prenatal appointment.

They asked when the first day of my last period was, which I told them, and then they sounded a bit shocked that I was already calling to make a prenatal appointment even though I hadn’t missed my period yet. She even made a comment specifically about it, which threw me off guard a little. I knew for a fact I was pregnant! I thought this was a little odd. Maybe I jumped the gun? Maybe the receptionist was just a tad rude? I don’t know.

Either way, I still made my appointment for when I’d be 8 weeks pregnant.

I still would suggest calling right away, because why not? But don’t be surprised if you get a funny reaction. Especially call right away if you have any health concerns regarding your pregnancy, or if you and your doctor have previously discussed a possible pregnancy being high risk.

How to Survive Wait Until First Ultrasound

Oh gosh, I wish I knew.

Those weeks are so anxiety-inducing and surreal. You know you’re pregnant from the tests, but you have to wait to get official confirmation, and you have no bump or baby kicks or anything of the sort to confirm things in the meantime. Perhaps some pregnancy symptoms (and if you’re unlucky like me, plenty of nausea) but many women have no symptoms at all!

I tested pretty often. I enjoyed seeing the positives and test progression. Other than that, I just tried to distract myself as much as possible. The two week wait is hard, but after that comes the wait before your first prenatal appointment. It’s hard! Just know you’re not alone in struggling to get through it.

RELATED POST: How To Prepare Your Body For Pregnancy | 10 Steps I’m Taking to Get Myself in the Best Possible Shape for TTC

What If You Have Questions or Concerns Before Your First Prenatal Appointment?

CALL! Ask! Don’t feel like you need to wait until your 8 week appointment to get the support you need.

Pregnancy is wild. There are so many questions and things that come up. Do not hesitate to call your doctor!

I had awwwwwful nausea for basically the first half of my pregnancy. To the point where I could not wait until my 8 week appointment to ask for some kind of relief. I believe I reached out around the week 6 mark and we rotated through a few different ideas and medication to try and find some relief.

If you have questions that you feel you can wait on, make a note in your phone. I have a running note going and add questions that I want to ask for any upcoming appointment I have so I don’t forget them.

What To Wear To First Prenatal Appointment

Your first prenatal appointment most likely will include an ultrasound. This is a transvaginal ultrasound, meaning it’s not on your belly, but…well…you get the idea.

For the ultrasound you’ll have to strip from the waist down, although the ultrasound tech will likely give you one of those paper sheets to cover up a bit. I’d go with a flowy dress you can pull up or shirt and pants. No rompers, or you’ll have to be fully naked on the ultrasound table 😂

Should Your Husband Come First Prenatal Visit?

Or partner, significant other, baby making person, or just general support person 😊

If you’re able to bring someone along, I 100% recommend it. It’s your first time seeing your little baby and it’s quick but special, so I highly recommend bringing your husband or partner along with you. Seeing their little heartbeat flickering away is so cool!

If they can’t come, since obviously doctor appointment times often fall during the workday, perhaps a family member could come with you. But if it has to be just you, that’s perfectly okay too ❤️

Anxiety Before First Ultrasound

This kind of falls into the category of how to survive the wait until your first ultrasound. I just wanted to call out anxiety specifically. First, it’s 100% normal. The wait is hard, and you don’t know if everything will be okay.

If you’re finding yourself becoming all consumed with anxiety though, I recommend reaching out to your doctor before you get to that 8 week mark. They are there to support you! Let them know you are dealing with anxiety, and see what your options are.

I was on anxiety medication before becoming pregnant and I credit it to, not necessarily eliminating my pregnancy anxiety, but making it SO much more manageable. Don’t suffer unnecessarily. Talk to your doctor and get the help you need!

When Do You Get Your First Ultrasound Photo

You’ll get your first photos immediately after your first ultrasound, they’ll be printed as your ultrasound tech is poking around to find whatever they need to find with the first ultrasound. We got 3-4 pictures in total, although he’s very blob like in most of them 😂

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What Happens At Your First Ultrasound?

It’s relatively quick! It’s usually it’s own appointment scheduled right before your appointment with your doctor.

You’ll be called back, and depending on their policies, will be allowed to bring back a support person with you. At our doctor’s office the protocol is no cameras, fyi. I think I’ve heard that’s the norm.

You’ll be asked to undress from the waist down, then get up on the table. The ultrasound tech will likely give you a paper cloth gown kind of thing to cover up a bit. You’ll put your feet in the stirrups, and then the ultrasound tech will prepare the probe likely with some lubricating gel.

In she goes 😂 and the tech will poke around a bit to see everything they need to see. For us, the tv was off until she was done getting all the pictures and visuals she needed, then she turned the tv on for my husband and I to see.

Once it was on we could see our little blob of a baby on video (picture shown below). His heartbeat was really clear to see, beating so strong. I didn’t realize how obvious that was going to be. He didn’t really move much, but he did give us a small head nod.

Then that was it. All in all it maybe took 5 minutes?

We got the pictures printed, I was given a baby wipe and some tissues to clean up, then got dressed and went back to the waiting room to be called back to see my doctor.

What Can You See at 8 Week Ultrasound?

Below is my 8 week ultrasound picture ❤️

We got a handful of pictures, but this one was the clearest. As you can tell, it’s hard to see much! But there is a rough shape of a baby going on 😊

We’ve got his head on the right, the darker shadow being his brain. His little body and you can make out two teeny tiny feet.

We also could see his heartbeat really clearly! It was a flicker that you couldn’t miss. Beating so strong!

First Doctor Appointment After Positive Pregnancy Test

Alright, so the ultrasound is done and now it’s time for your doctor visit! At least that’s how it was done at my doctor’s office.

Once called back I was weighed and asked to pee in a cup. My blood pressure was taken, then I waited for the doctor.

I didn’t really know what to expect for this part of the appointment, so I didn’t have my husband come back with me. I wish I had so he could have met the doctor, but again, it’s all a bit unclear and confusing. But you definitely can!

My doctor confirmed that all looked good with the ultrasound and we discussed my last period, average cycle, and how he was measuring to give me my due date. She explained how for me personally, every Friday I’d be hitting a new week – which I appreciated since it can get a bit confusing! She mentioned how my due date can change over time (although mine hasn’t even now at 30 weeks).

We went over pregnancy basics, honestly most of it was common sense like to eat healthy and whatnot. She mentioned I should limit myself with seafood and certain fish to avoid. My nausea was still bad at this point so she suggested to try to up my protein (yeah good luck with all those food aversions!)

We went over the general schedule of upcoming appointments. Up until 28 weeks I would have an appointment every 4 weeks. The next ultrasound would be at 20 weeks, but for all the other appointments we would check on baby via the doppler to hear his heartbeat. After 28 weeks we’d switch to every 2 weeks, then at 36 weeks it be every week. The ultrasound following 20 weeks is at 36 weeks.

Appointments vary with what happens at them. All of them include a weigh in and pee test. Some include vaccines, some include blood tests. My doctor always gave me a heads up at the appointment prior as to what would happen, but you can ask if your doctor doesn’t provide that info.

So far, at 30 weeks, we’ve stuck to exactly that! Minus the fact that at the 20 week anatomy scan we weren’t able to get all the pictures we needed because baby boy wouldn’t turn over, so we did another ultrasound at 24 weeks to get the rest that we needed.

Anyways, then it was time for me to ask any questions I had. I don’t think I really had many at that point outside of how the hell do I get rid of this unrelenting nausea 🙃

After we chatted a bit, the appointment ended with a blood test. Then I was off! Boom. First prenatal appointment checked off the list.

Questions To Ask at First Prenatal Visit

You might already have a list of questions, but in case you don’t and are wondering what you should ask, here are a few ideas:

• Can I continue taking the current medication I’m on?
• What OTC medications should I stop taking?
• What foods should I avoid?
• Can I continue my current exercise regimen?
• How can I safely alleviate (fill in the blank) pregnancy symptom?
• How much water should I be drinking daily?
• How much weight should I gain in my first trimester or throughout my pregnancy?
• What prenatal should I be taking?

Alright, that’s absolutely everything that happened at my first doctor appointment after positive pregnancy test. Probably too much detail, but I’m an oversharer and also someone who likes to know exactly what to expect ahead of time. Hopefully this answers your questions and maybe even eases a bit of your anxiety. Congratulations on your positive pregnancy test, wishing you an easy and healthy pregnancy ❤️

This post was all about your first doctor appointment after positive pregnancy test.