This post may contain affiliate links, which means I'll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure here.
These are the questions to ask at first prenatal visit so you can be properly prepared to handle your pregnancy and have all the info you need!
It can be intimidating to know what questions to ask at first prenatal visit! You know you should be asking things, but what exactly? Especially if it’s your first pregnancy!
We’re taking all the guesswork away and providing you with plenty of ideas of questions to ask, should you want the answers, so you can walk away from that very first appointment feeling prepared! Or at least prepared enough for your next appointment.
From appointment frequency, to medication, to continuing workouts and more, we’re covering it all!
This post is all about questions to ask at first prenatal visit.
22 Ideas of Questions To Ask At Your First Prenatal Visit:
1. When is my due date?
Always an exciting moment of your first prenatal visit – finding out your due date! You might have an idea already, but doesn’t hurt to confirm it or find out for sure. I thought my due date was 2 days after what my doctor said.
2. How does my ultrasound look?
Most likely at your first prenatal visit you will have your 8 week ultrasound, your first one! And in case you didn’t know, this one will be done vaginally, not over your abdomen, so dress accordingly!
For me, I first had my ultrasound, then I had my prenatal appointment with my doctor. They likely will tell you how things look, but in case they don’t you can go ahead and ask!
3. How often will I have prenatal appointments?
It might vary doctor to doctor, so it could be good to ask so you know what to expect. Also could vary depending on if you have any specific risks or conditions that need extra monitoring.
For me, I had one starting at 8 weeks, then every 4 weeks after that until 28 weeks. Then it switched to every 2 weeks, and then at 36 weeks it was every week. I ended up high risk because I had gestational diabetes, so that changed the frequency and I started going every week around 29 weeks.
4. Can my husband/partner/whoever come with me to appointments?
Most likely you can bring someone with you, but various practices have different rules for who can come, how many can come, etc.
5. What prenatal vitamin do you recommend?
You most likely are already taking one, but if not, you can get a good recommendation now or confirm that what you’re taking is a good option!
6. I’m taking X medication, can I continue?
If you’re taking any specific medications, you should double check that they are safe to continue taking during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding (so you’re prepared ahead of time.) This might be a good question to call ahead with when you first find out you’re pregnant.
7. I workout in X way, can I continue?
It’s a good idea to get cleared for whatever your preferred form of exercise is! If you have to change things up, or are looking to start a workout regimen, you can ask for pregnancy safe ideas.
8. What kind of symptoms should I call you for?
There are SO so many pregnancy symptoms you might experience. The majority are completely normal! But you should ask your doctor for which ones are a red flag for them and worth calling in for to double check things.
9. How can I best have a healthy pregnancy?
A broad question, but good to get this info!
10. What do you recommend for nausea?
Morning sickness or all day sickness for some lucky ladies (me) is fairly common. You might already be experiencing it! There are options to consider, so go ahead and ask your doctor what you can do. Don’t need to suffer!
11. How far in advance should I schedule out my appointments?
If your doctor is busy you might want to go ahead and schedule a bunch of them out so you can be fit in, especially if you need a specific time like before or after work, school pickups, etc.
12. Are there any foods or drinks I should avoid?
Every doctor is different with their recommendations, so this is good to find out.
13. Are there any activities I should avoid?
Hot tubs are a big one, but there might be others!
14. I’m dealing with X symptom, is there anything you recommend to help alleviate it?
Besides nausea, there might be other symptoms impacting your daily life. Go ahead and ask if there is anything you can do or your doctor’s recommendations to alleviate them as best as possible.
15. Are there any medications I should avoid?
An important one! Lots of over the counter medications are NOT pregnancy safe.
16. Do you recommend any resources to learn more about pregnancy?
So much to learn! And it’s impossible to learn it all at your appointment, or even all of the appointments to follow. There’s a lot. But finding out if they have recommended resources to find out more info could be a helpful step to take.
17. How much weight gain is recommended?
I wouldn’t concern yourself too too much with pregnancy weight gain, your body needs to gain weight and you don’t need to stress yourself out about it. But it might be helpful to know the recommended weight gain, or average gain, in case it’s something you need to keep a little bit of an eye on.
18. Do I need any prenatal screenings?
Depending on your history or your doctor’s practice their might be genetic or other kinds of screenings they recommend you do.
19. Am I at risk for any kinds of complications?
Similar to above, depending on your health history, there might be risks you want to be aware of. Ask for the warning signs as well so you can know what to look for.
20. Is my job safe to continue?
If you have an active kind of job or one where you do a lot of heavy lifting, you should double check with your doctor it’s safe for you to continue with.
21. How much water should I be consuming?
Water is a great way to stay healthy while pregnant. SO so important! Ask for how much you should be consuming so you can get to work on hitting that daily recommended amount.
22. What’s the best way to reach out with further questions?
They are there to support YOU. Reach out when you need to! But find out if it’s best to reach out online, on the phone, etc.
You probably have a few other questions of your own! Be sure to ask those as well. I always kept a note going in my phone of questions to ask so I wouldn’t forget them by the time my appointment rolled around.
Also, don’t feel like you need to ask all of these! They are just some ideas if you’re not sure what to ask. Hopefully this gives you some inspiration for questions to ask at first prenatal visit. Wishing you a healthy and easy pregnancy!
Leave a Reply