6 Weeks Pregnant

6 weeks pregnant: Doctors appointments and health information

(4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

If you haven’t already seen your doctor, you should book in for your first antenatal visit. This is important to:

Determine an accurate estimated date of delivery (due date of your baby);
Check for any infections that may harm your baby;
Ensure you are immunised against vaccine-preventable infections which may harm your baby – ideally performed prior to pregnancy;
Check that any medications you are taking are not harmful to the baby – ideally performed prior to pregnancy;
Ensure any medical conditions you have (e.g. diabetes) are optimally managed. If you have medical conditions it’s also important that you discuss with your doctor the possible effects of pregnancy on those conditions, as well as the possible effects of medical conditions on your pregnancy;
Find out about screening tests which can be performed on your baby in the first trimester (e.g. for birth defects);
Be advised on folate supplementation if you are not already taking it;
Discuss lifestyle and diet including the importance of healthy eating and exercise and avoiding dangerous substances like alcohol and tobacco;
Ask any health related questions that you feel are important; and
Raise any concerns that you are feeling about your pregnancy.

See more information about pregnancy and exercise, including exercises to do and avoid during pregnancy.

See more information about how much to eat during pregnancy and the effects of over-eating during pregnancy or under-eating during pregnancy.

Avoiding dangerous substances in pregnancy week 6

Embryogenesis is a period of rapid development and the time during which all your baby’s organs develop. It is an important period to avoid teratogens (things that can affect the growing baby), including some medicines and viruses which cross the placenta, as these can interfere with organ development and increase the risk of birth defects. The development of your baby’s organs is interdependent. This means that failure of one organ or part of an organ to develop (e.g. the lens of the eye) impacts on the development of other parts of the organ and the surrounding structures (e.g. failure of the lens to develop will interrupt the development of other parts of the eye like the optic disc).

See more information about substances and foods to avoid during pregnancy including caffeine and alcohol.