Prenatal Visit Schedule

ACOG recommends a standard prenatal visit schedule for low-risk pregnancies: once a month through 28 weeks, every two weeks from 28 to 36 weeks, and weekly from 36 weeks until delivery. High-risk pregnancies — including those with gestational diabetes, preeclampsia risk, or multiples — may follow a more frequent schedule.

Your first prenatal visit is the longest, usually 45 to 60 minutes. After that, most routine visits take 10 to 15 minutes. Visits with ultrasounds or special tests take longer.

The first prenatal visit establishes your baseline. You will have a dating ultrasound to confirm gestational age and establish your due date. Your provider will order a comprehensive panel of blood tests including blood type, Rh factor, CBC, rubella immunity, and infection screenings.

Between weeks 10 and 13, you may opt for the NIPT (cell-free DNA screening) and/or a nuchal translucency scan. These are screening tests — they assess risk but do not provide a definitive diagnosis. Your provider will discuss which options make sense for you.

The highlight of the second trimester is the anatomy scan around week 20. This detailed ultrasound examines your baby's major organ systems, measures growth, checks the placenta, and can reveal your baby's sex if you want to know.

The glucose screening test at 24-28 weeks checks for gestational diabetes, which affects about 6 to 9 percent of pregnancies. The one-hour test is a screening — if your result is elevated, a three-hour diagnostic test follows.

If you are Rh-negative, you will receive a RhoGAM injection around week 28 to prevent Rh sensitization. This is routine and covered by insurance.

Visits ramp up in frequency because the third trimester is when conditions like preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and growth restriction are most likely to emerge. Your provider monitors blood pressure closely at every visit.

The Group B strep test at 36-37 weeks determines whether you will need IV antibiotics during labor. About 25 percent of people carry GBS — it is not an infection, just a normal bacterium that needs treatment during delivery to protect the baby.

Starting around week 36, your provider may check your cervix for dilation and effacement, though this is optional and not predictive of when labor will start. They will also confirm the baby's position (head-down vs. breech) and discuss your birth preferences.

If your pregnancy is considered high-risk — due to advanced maternal age, multiples, a pre-existing condition like diabetes or hypertension, or a complication discovered during screening — your visit schedule will be more frequent. You may also see a maternal-fetal medicine specialist (perinatologist) in addition to your OB.

Additional monitoring might include more frequent ultrasounds, non-stress tests in the third trimester, serial growth scans, or more frequent blood pressure checks. Your provider will tailor the schedule to your specific situation.

Regardless of risk level, do not skip visits. Prenatal care is one of the most effective interventions in all of medicine — it catches problems early when they are most treatable. For medication questions that come up between visits, our pregnancy-safe medications guide is a helpful reference, and be sure to review your prenatal vitamin regimen with your provider.

This guide is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider with any questions about your pregnancy.