Your Antenatal Care Timeline: A Month-by-Month Pregnancy Guide

Antenatal care is not a series of unrelated appointments. Each visit is timed because something specific can only be detected in that window — a scan that dates the pregnancy accurately, a test that must fall between 11 and 14 weeks, a vaccination that has to be given before delivery. This is the full schedule, month by month.

A typical uncomplicated pregnancy involves eight to ten visits. A high-risk pregnancy — twins, diabetes, high blood pressure, a previous caesarean or a previous loss — involves more, and the schedule below is adjusted accordingly by your obstetrician.

Before you conceive: the visit most people skip

Ideally three months before trying: folic acid 400 mcg daily (5 mg if there is diabetes, epilepsy or a previous neural tube defect), a thyroid check, haemoglobin, blood group with Rh typing, blood sugar, rubella immunity, and a review of any regular medication. Neural tube defects form in the first four weeks — often before a woman knows she is pregnant — which is why folic acid started after a positive test is already late.

Month 1–2 (up to 8 weeks): confirming the pregnancy

• Urine test, then a blood beta-hCG if there is doubt.
• First ultrasound at 6–8 weeks to confirm the pregnancy is inside the uterus, count the number of sacs, and check the heartbeat. This also gives the most accurate due date you will ever get — later scans estimate size, not age.
• Booking bloods: haemoglobin, blood group and Rh, blood sugar, TSH, HIV, hepatitis B, VDRL, urine routine and culture.
• Folic acid continues through the first trimester.
• Discuss nausea, medications to stop, and what is safe for pain relief.

Month 3 (9–13 weeks): the first-trimester screen

• NT scan at 11–13 weeks + 6 days. Measures the fluid at the back of the baby’s neck and checks the nasal bone. Combined with the dual marker blood test, it estimates the risk of Down syndrome and two other chromosomal conditions.
• This window is fixed. Miss it and the screening options for the rest of the pregnancy are narrower.
• NIPT (a maternal blood test analysing fetal DNA) may be offered as a more sensitive alternative where indicated.
• Blood pressure, weight, and a discussion about diet and work.

Month 4–5 (14–22 weeks): the anomaly scan

• Anomaly scan (target scan) at 18–22 weeks. A detailed examination of the brain, spine, heart, kidneys, limbs, placental position and amniotic fluid. This is the most important scan of the pregnancy.
• First TT / Tdap dose as advised, with the second four weeks later. Tdap also protects the newborn against whooping cough.
• Iron and calcium supplements begin after the first trimester, usually 100 mg elemental iron and 500 mg calcium daily — taken at different times of day, since calcium blocks iron absorption.
• Fetal movements usually begin to be felt between 18 and 22 weeks in a first pregnancy, earlier in later ones.
• Blood pressure, weight, and haemoglobin repeated.

Month 6–7 (23–32 weeks): growth and glucose

• Oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks for gestational diabetes. South Asian women have a substantially higher risk, so this is done for everyone, not only those with symptoms or a family history.
• Anti-D injection at 28 weeks if you are Rh negative and your partner is Rh positive.
• Growth scan around 28–32 weeks to check fetal weight, amniotic fluid and placental function.
• Repeat haemoglobin — anaemia is common at this stage and easier to correct now than at 38 weeks.
• Visits move to every two weeks. Start counting fetal movements daily: most units advise recording ten movements within two hours during the baby’s active period.

Month 8 (33–36 weeks): preparing for delivery

• Growth scan with Doppler if there is any concern about growth or blood pressure.
• Position of the baby is assessed — a breech presentation at this stage still often turns on its own.
• Group B streptococcus swab where offered.
• Birth plan discussion: mode of delivery, pain relief options, who will accompany you, and what happens if a caesarean becomes necessary.
• Hospital bag, documents and transport arranged — particularly important for families travelling in from outside Vijayapura.

Month 9 (37–40 weeks): weekly reviews

• Weekly visits with blood pressure, urine protein, fundal height and fetal heart monitoring.
• Non-stress test (NST) and amniotic fluid assessment as advised.
• A discussion about induction if the pregnancy passes the due date, and about what labour will actually feel like.
• Confirm signs of labour: regular tightening every five minutes for an hour, leaking fluid, or a bloody show.

The schedule at a glance

Weight, diet and activity

For a woman starting at a normal BMI, a total gain of 11–16 kg across the pregnancy is usual; less if overweight at booking, more for twins. There is no need to "eat for two" — the extra requirement is roughly 350 extra calories a day in the second trimester and 450 in the third, best met with protein, dal, eggs, milk, curd, green leafy vegetables and fruit.

Moderate activity — walking, prenatal yoga, swimming — is beneficial in an uncomplicated pregnancy. Avoid raw or undercooked food, unpasteurised milk, alcohol, tobacco in any form, and self-prescribed medication including many common painkillers and Ayurvedic preparations. Check with your doctor before taking anything.

Antenatal care at Janani Hospital, Vijayapura

Our antenatal care unit runs scans, laboratory tests and consultations under one roof, with an obstetric team available round the clock and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit on site for babies who need additional support. High-risk pregnancies — gestational diabetes, hypertension, twins, previous caesarean or recurrent loss — are managed jointly with the obstetrics and gynecology and general medicine teams.

Book your booking visit as soon as the pregnancy is confirmed, or call +91 70908 31208. Bring your previous pregnancy records if you have them — what happened last time shapes the plan for this one.