Prenatal Care Specialist
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Prestige Healthcare OBGYN
OBGYNs located in Atlanta, GA
At Prestige Healthcare OBGYN in Atlanta, board-certified physicians Lorenzo Simmons, MD, and Charis Trench-Simmons, MD, help support you at every turn as you travel down the exciting, busy road of motherhood. Dr. Simmons and Dr. Trench-Simmons work with friendly, trained staff members to provide family planning services and quality customized prenatal care. The Prestige professionals can organize, assist, plan, and give you the best possible medical care during this important time of your life. Call Prestige Healthcare OBGYN or schedule an appointment online today to learn more.
Prenatal Care Q & A
What is prenatal care?
Prenatal care is an important part of motherhood for both the mother and baby. Prenatal care can involve:
- Checkups
- Ultrasounds
- Physical exams
- Routine diagnostic testing
- Medical history evaluations
Prenatal care also involves taking time to discuss your pregnancy concerns or questions and conducting an in-depth medical history evaluation.
How does an ultrasound work?
An ultrasound is a noninvasive test that uses high-frequency sound waves to safely produce detailed pictures of the inside of your body. The images are taken in real-time and can reveal the movements and structure of your blood flow and internal organs.
Ultrasound technology can be used to diagnose the cause of swelling, infections, and pain in internal organs and is also used for other purposes. With prenatal care, ultrasounds are used to examine the fetus during pregnancy.
What medical services are involved in prenatal care?
The Prestige Healthcare OBGYN providers are here to help you through every stage of your pregnancy.
First trimester
Your first trimester lasts until around 12 weeks and your first prenatal visit generally occurs when you’re around eight weeks pregnant. Your first prenatal visit usually involves:
- Ultrasound
- Confirmation pregnancy test
- Planning your pregnancy medical care
- Blood work
- Gynecological exam
First trimester checkups are recommended once a month.
Second trimester
Your second trimester lasts until around 28 weeks. During this time your monthly visits should continue, and when you reach 18 weeks you have another ultrasound to evaluate your baby’s anatomy. You can also find out the sex at this time, if you so choose.
Third trimester
The third trimester is until 40 weeks, and prenatal visits should now occur biweekly. Weekly prenatal visits are necessary during the last four weeks of your pregnancy until you deliver.
What is noninvasive prenatal testing?
Prestige Healthcare OBGYN provides noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), an advanced and highly sensitive test that screens for certain abnormalities and conditions in a baby, such as Down syndrome, Turner syndrome, and problems with sex chromosomes.
Some of your baby’s DNA passes into your bloodstream during pregnancy. The NIPT allows Dr. Simmons or Dr. Trench-Simmons to analyze genetic information contained in the DNA.
NIPT is a simple blood test that can be performed around 10 weeks into pregnancy.
It can take around two weeks or more to get the results of your NIPT. A more extensive diagnostic test, such as amniocentesis, might be necessary to confirm the results of NIPT.
Learn more about prenatal care, pregnancy, and NIPT, by calling Prestige Healthcare OBGYN or scheduling an appointment online today.
