I'm Pregnant - What Should I Do Now?

When you first see those lines on your pregnancy test it can be hard to know what to do. Your immediate reaction will be very dependent on your circumstances of course but in terms of the practicalities what needs to happen and when?

Traditionally women would visit the GP to ‘confirm’ the pregnancy and arrange all the referrals for the midwife and scans. Now the home testing kits are so reliable that you don’t need to visit your GP, you can self-refer usually on the hospital’s maternity webpages.

But at first this can all seem a bit weird, especially if this is your first baby. All you have is two lines, nothing visible in your body, you might have an early symptom or two but so many women feel like they could be a bit of fraud at this stage.

If you have a few hospitals within reach it is worth doing some checks to see which one you want to go for. Have a look at local reviews, read inspection reports, see what other parents are saying – but remember lots of the time people only shout about the negatives. When you just had a baby you don’t really think about writing a positive review, you are just getting on with figuring out this new little person, but if things weren’t great you might feel more motivated to share them.

Once you have decided do the online referral. It might feel early but it is ideal to have your first midwife appointment before you are 10 weeks and you will probably be at least 4 when you find out. This means your midwife can find out early on if there any potential complications or if you need to be referred for any specialist care so that you are getting the right care as early as possible. It also allows time to get your dating scan booked in the correct time frame. It is usually possible to change your hospital later in your pregnancy if you want to so don’t stress about it too much if you aren’t sure at this stage.

If you want to find out more about what to think about when choosing a hospital I have a free guide that will help you understand how maternity care works and what options you might want to consider. https://payhip.com/b/mqDZW

Even though it might feel like nothing much is happening in your body, there is so much happening! Your body is working really hard at this stage and you might start to notice some symptoms like nausea or tiredness. However you are feeling, look after yourself. Make sure you get plenty of sleep, eat and drink as you are able/need to and think about your activity levels. Most people are fine to continue exercising during pregnancy but listen to your body and adapt or pause your routine if you feel like you need to.

If you aren’t already taking folic acid, definitely start asap and consider whether a pregnancy multi-vitamin would benefit you. If you take a multi-vitamin specifically for pregnancy you might not need additional folic acid. Lots of hospitals test vitamin D levels early in pregnancy to advise if you need to supplement with this also but it may be prescribed. Check with your midwife when you see them.

Should tell people you are pregnant at this stage or keep it to yourself/yourselves?

This is a very personal preference. Some people can’t wait to announce a pregnancy and will tell everyone really early on. It’s exciting news and they can’t wait to share it. Others prefer to wait until they have had their dating scan and things are looking ok because the risk of miscarriage reduces at this stage so they feel more comfortable to talk about it without worrying about having to tell people if anything goes wrong.

There are no rights or wrongs. If you tell people and then experience a miscarriage it can be hard to tell them but it can allow them to support you. If you haven’t told anyone about your pregnancy it can be a hard conversation if you need to reach out for any support and a hard situation to deal with on your own.

What you do will very much depend on your previous experiences and your friends and family network. You might not want to tell the world but maybe close family or friends so they can support you during early pregnancy if you need it. Just do whatever feels right and don’t worry too much about what you ‘should’ do.

And of course, it is never too early to start looking at your options for antenatal classes! Things like yoga can be great from early on – mine are from 14 weeks – and couples classes where you cover birth and baby care are best done later but can get booked up so it is worth researching now. Live near me? My classes are all here https://www.bethowen.uk/antenatal-classes-workshops

If you are considering a doula to support you during your birth it is worth researching some people now too. You might want to book anyone just yet but see who is in your area and maybe start some conversations. They also get booked up so worth checking out early.

So, it might feel a bit early to do anything and you might still be getting your head around being pregnant but it is really important to get your maternity care in place in the early weeks.

Beth x