Newly Pregnant, When Do I See the Dr? and How to Continue Excersizing

My doc said that they wanted me in at 8-9 weeks and that I could continue everything prior to being pregnant. I would call and ask though bc some docs have diffrent "rules" congrates on the baby :)

Hey L. -- congrats!

You can continue any exercize you were doing pre-pregnancy and that will remain the same unless your doctor puts you on some kind of limits due to risk. There is a website for pregnancy fitness (free) run by the Sparkpeople group.. http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/

Typically your first visit should be when you are 6-8 weeks along. They cannot 'hear' the heartbeat until 11-13 weeks with the doppler. They can see it with an internal sonogram at 6-8 weeks usually.

Good luck,
H.

I saw the doc for the first time with my first at 14 weeks! Yes, I was that lady who didn't know she was pregnant. I heard the heartbeat on the first visit. My baby was perfectly healthy. I am NOT suggesting waiting that long since you do know you are pregnant, so I would say the sooner the better. If insurance is a problem and you cannot get to the doctor soon, be sure to eat extra healthy and take extra good care of yourself, habits you should continue during pregnancy anyway of course!

Regarding exercise, I have always been told that whatever exercise you do before pregnancy you can continue during pregnancy, with a few moderations later in pregnancy (cannot lie flat on back after first trimester, etc). I ran about 9-10 miles per week prior to pregnancy, and now that I am pregnant I have cut down to running about 5 per week and walking 5. I did that because my body was telling me to, so it is very important to listen to your body.

I found that prenatal yoga and running/walking kept my figure with the first, so I am going to try that with this one and hope for the best. So long as you didn't have any complications with your first two and you feel healthy and good while exercising you should be fine. Just be very sure not to overheat, drink extra water now that you are preggers, and listen to your body. It will tell you when it has had enough!

Best wishes!

Congrats!!! how exciting, If you're 4 weeks along I would just schedule for any day next week so they can check the baby's implantation is in the right place, and check the heartbeat, they check other things too but I think is these two they're most interested about on the first appt.
Also, forget about doing abs, it's not recommended during pregancy. Of course check with your OB to see if you can keep exercising but I think if you already had a work out routine set up then your body is used to it and you can continue to do low impact activities. I actually read that it's healthy to exercise during pregnancy if the mother is healthy and there are no other complications.
Good luck and may you have an easy pregnancy and delivery!

I'd call the dr you are going to see and ask when they would like you to come in. As for exercise, I was taught that if you were doing it before you were pregnant you can do it while you are pregnant - as long as it feels ok i.e. no pulling, cramping. Ab work they did tell me to stop at some point but I forget (and had given up on exercise long before that point anyway!). Keep up the ab work as much as you can - the second baby works your body harder oftentimes, so strong muscles will be a big help. You may have to adjust some positions as you get farther along such as not lying flat on your back for crunches but doing them on a ball more inclined. Talk to the doctor - she'll probably be glad that you want to stay healthy and strong and will give you the advice you need.

If you have issues with pregnancy or are older than 35, you need to see the doctor around 5-6 weeks. If you are not at risk or of advanced maternal age, you need to see the doctor around 8 weeks.

As for working out, you can still work out as long as you don't raise your body temp above normal. The first 12 weeks of pregnancy are a little fragile and higher body temps are not good. Also, abdominal workouts are fine, just don't do any incline work on your abs because it can cause stress on the ligaments.

Congrats! :)

Call your congressman's office and find out when maternity insurance kicks in in the new health care plan recently passed. It might cover your pregnancy.
I don't know about doctor approval or disapproval but there is not much they can do for you except counsel about nutrition and vitamins this early in your pregnancy.
You don't need an ultrasound. This technique is so terribly overdone and we do not know what it actually does to a fetus.
If you are healthy and have had normal deliveries why not have a midwife instead of a doctor do you prenatal and your deliver.
I was a dancer as in modern dance and I danced until around seven months of pregnancy. Why would going to the gym which you do every week cause problems except as your pregnancy advances you will have to cut back on some of the exercises to accommodate your expanding body. Do you think our farm ancestor women stopped working? No they did everything including the heavy lifting until their baby was born.
Doctors are not really properly trained in nutrition nor in being able to manipulate a baby not in the right position for delivery. All they know today if there is any kind of problem is to cut and sew.
I'd need an entire magazine to tell you about doctors incompetence in pregnancy management. I've only been to around 600 deliveries so I am not a real expert.

I'd say give the doctor you plan to visit a call. With both of mine, they had me wait until 6 weeks.

I say continue exercising as usual! Good for you that you are doing it! But listen to your body and tone down the intensity as you get further and further along. If you expect any complications (if you had any with your other two) I'd stop until you see the doctor. Also another good questions for your first call to the doctors office.

Congratulations!

6-8 weeks is the usual first ultrasound I believe. Heartbeat is usually seen by this time.

As for gym work, if you are used to it you should be able to continue as hard core as you have been. If on the other hand you were not used to it then a doctor would say don't start something more strenuous. Being fit and active during pregnancy will help keep weight gain at an acceptable amount and help with recovery after!

Ab work becomes more difficult as you get bigger for at least 2 reasons: The baby taking up room where you would be crunching and the fact that the muscles of the stomach running from chest down to pelvis separate to allow for the expanding uterus. So better to avoid this once this separation occurs.

You can continue all workouts, with the exception of ones that make you hot - you need to be wary of raising your body temperature. (This may limit cardio exercise, and rules out hot tubs or hot yoga or things like that.) I'd continue you ab work, because it will help with carrying and recovering from the pregnancy, but pay attention to the space between your abs and modify exercises as necessary. You can find suggestions for good v. bad ab exercises on line. Otherwise, just pay extra attention to how you are feeling, and be gentle with yourself. Err on the side of not pushing yourself too hard, but keep doing things as long as you feel well.

Well, no one should lecture you about that. 3 months is not too long to wait. But i would go around a month & 1/2 or 2. Go see a midwife first....ours are great at A. midwifery & they take insurance too! Congrats!

My OB wanted me to come in between 6 and 8 weeks. Give yours a call and see when they want you to come in. The receptionist should know what's normal.

For exercise, you'll need to change your habits a bit. I exercised through the 8th month of pregnancy with my youngest. I was going to stroller strides and my instructor was certified in prenatal instruction so she always gave me alternative options if something was unsafe for pregnancy. I recommend that you talk to your doctor about it and your trainer if you have one. I was definately working up a sweat and using resistance bands my entire pregnancy. Continuing to do core work can help when it comes time to push out baby. :) I was directed to stop doing situps while laying on my back, but I still did ab work. I only had to push for 15 minutes or my daughter to be born.

Congrats!! It may be hard to get insurance coverage knowing you're pregnant, make sure you don't tell them if they don't specifically ask, unless you're getting state insurance. You can start some individual insurance policies on the 15th of the following month if you apply by the 20th, so hurry! (Lifewise of Washington and Regence Blue Shield are the two I recommend from working with them on a daily basis, maybe Group health as a last resort)

Otherwise if you have no insurance now and know you are pregnant, they can deny some of it as a pre-existing condition. ( possibly covering only prenatal care and not the birth itself). Our state uses the "prudent person rule", meaning the definition of pregnancy is when a prudent person would have figured out something was happening and sought out medical care for their condition.

My OB made me wait until 8 weeks to come in. And unless you have one you love, I will highly recommend mine, he never lectured me on anything, just guided and educated. He is very well known and has a great sense of humor to boot! My friend (who's an L&D nurse recommended him from experiences working with many doctors), he delivers at Providence Everett, has offices at the Everett Clinic next to Providence, and also at Everett Clinic Mill Creek (in the Town Center by Central Market/Coldstone/UW bookstore). He's great if you want or need a new Doctor! I almost want to try for a third just to go back to him =)

If you are willing to try birthing with a midwife in a hospital setting, I recommend Sally Avenson ARNP CNM or Cynthia Brown CNM (Midwife Seattle). They deliver at Swedish Ballard (Sally) and Group Health Hospital downtwon (both of them).

Call your doctor next week, they all have different dates that they like to start seeing their patients. Some docs say to wait until 12 weeks, other want you in immediately. And it can take some time to get in to the see the doctor sometimes. Just call and tell them how far along you are, they will tell you when they want to see you.

As for the working out, just go easy for the until you see your doctor. Don't stop working out but don't over exert yourself. My doctor said I could do anything I had already been doing, but there were some weight limits and certain excercises I couldn't do. I just don't remember what they were. And make sure you stay hydrated. Take your prenatals.

I don't believe insurance companies are allowed to use pregnancies as a pre-existing condition anymore. Maybe it varies state to state, but when I was pregnant 2 1/2 yrs ago I was told pregnancy couldn't be used for that. If you are purchasing your own insurance (not through a job) you will pay more for it, and you will have to purchase a special pregnancy policy (called a maternity writer maybe?), but that should be the only issue. I'm not sure how you'd go about finding out the rules. But we looked into purchasing our own insurance and got several different policy options with no problems, but ended up not needing it (had thought I'd be losing my insurance for unrelated reasons, but it didn't happen). Good luck!

Not sure why they were not happy with you. We do not have insurance and I go to health dept. I was 16 weeks and 2 days when they first saw me last week . And it's the same for everyone, they will not see you till second tri.
I stopped all types of workout but walking (twice a day) once I found out I was preg.

Go to your doctor as soon as you get insurance and ask all those very good questions. Your exercising is not bad for the baby, it is good for your physical health and that makes it good for the baby. But you might have to modify it.

Hi there! About the exercise. Have you tried the "Perfect Pregnancy Workout" videos? I have the first one. I loved it. Got it late but if I'd gotten it earlier it would've helped a lot. Discuss it with your doctor. It's a wonderful routine. The lady who does the exercises there was 8 months pregnant at the time, so it is safe if you're used to weight training (and it sounds like you are).

A good book (pretty basic and straightforward) is "The 30-Minute Pregnancy Workout" by Anna Aberg. It shows what to do before, during and after pregnancy. There are routines for all trimesters.

Aberg ended up having c-section so there's no telling how her routine would've helped. But the twin mothers in the "Perfect Pregnancy Workout" videos both had natural childbirth without epidurals or tearing, if I recall.

Most exercises are fine for the first trimester. As the pregnancy progresses, and it gets harder to breathe (and the baby gets bigger), you do need to cut back on the weights. Also, get a heart rate monitor. Again, I recommend those books and a talk with your doctor.

Good luck and congratulations!