Women at high risk, and those women with an existing condition such as diabetes or having a Rhesus negative blood group, are carefully monitored so that the baby’s welfare is never in jeopardy.

You will attend an antenatal clinic at either the hospital where you will have your baby or at your doctor’s surgery. Most of the women attend once a month or so up until 7 months of pregnancy, every two weeks up to 9 months of pregnancy, and then once a week for the last month.

You will need to attend mo/e frequently if any complications develop, such as your expecting more than one baby, if you have a pre-existing medical condition, or if you are at risk.

Attending an antenatal clinic in a hospital can be intimidating and frustrating: there may be a large number of staff coming and going, and you may be kept waiting for some time. Many women describe it as a cattle market. Negative feelings can be made much worse by the discontinuity of care — it’s quite possible to see different nurses and doctors at every visit. Much of this can be avoided if you opt for shared care, a GP unit, or the “domino” system where you mainly see your doctor or your midwife for check-ups, with occasional visits to the hospital antenatal clinic.

When you go, try to make the best of your time at the antenatal clinic by taking along something to read or to do, and some food and drink just in case the food trolley doesn’t come by while you are there. Take a friend or your partner with you for company and moral support.

Ideally, your partner should attend at least one antenatal clinic with you so that he is familiar with what you go through and can sympathize. He can also have his questions answered and, most importantly, give you moral support. If you already have young children, arrange for them to be looked after if at all possible because they can be quite a handful in a confined space with little to interest them.

On your first visit to the antenatal clinic, you will be asked various questions on the following subjects:

- Your personal details and circumstances including age, marital status, next of kin and religion.

- Childhood illnesses or serious illnesses you have had.

- Serious illnesses that run in your family or in your partners family

- Whether there are twins in your family

- What symptoms of pregnancy you have, and the state of your general health.

- Details of previous births, pregnancies or problems in conceiving.

- Whether you are taking any prescription medication or whether you suffer from any allergies.

- your menstrual history — when you started, how long your average cycle is, how many days you bleed, and the date of your last menstrual period (IMP).

- From the above information, your estimated delivery date (EDD) will be calculated.

If you want to check your basal body temperature, you should first get a basal thermometer for you. Since the temperature changes so slightly that a normal thermometer will not that effective to tell you about the changes of temperature that have taken place in your body. You’ll have to measure as well as record your basal body temperature in a regular basis down to the 10th of a degree. Some women will see change in full degree, but most will only experience the change of about 0.4 degree Fahrenheit.

If one want to undergo her basal body temperature checkup. She should record her temperature as soon as she woke up early in the morning before doing anything else. Tracing down these temperatures regularly over a couple of months will exhibit a proper pattern of the ovulation. Many women begin checking their basal body temperature during the very first day of their menstrual period, but it’s possible for you to get started at the real time. If you’re ovulating as usual, you then should notice a change about 14th day of your cycle. The temperature may fall a little (usually about ½ a degree) soon after ovulation. Egg release probably takes place a day before the elevation and it continues until the menses. Elevation that is longer than the expected twelve to fourteen days generally indicates the pregnancy.

The changes in your basal body temperature are resulted by changes in hormone levels. Sperm can remain for a couple of days inside your vagina or uterus, so having sexual intercourse before ovulation will assist in ensuring that your egg is going to encounter the sperm. If you’re intending to avoid pregnancy, you then must abstain from sexual intercourse for around a week before the ovulation. Keep in mind that several things including medication, lifestyle, environment, illness, and diet can changes on the day you ovulate, so you should be aware of this fact.