Early Pregnancy

During a pregnancy your patient will have many tests, the majority of which take place in the early weeks to establish an overall picture of health and identify anything that may compromise the baby’s development. Australian Clinical Labs offers the full range of early pregnancy tests, some of which are outlined below.

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Serology

  • HIV: A screening test for mothers.  If the mother is HIV positive, a baby has about a one in four chance of catching HIV without treatment, but transmission can be almost entirely prevented with appropriate interventions.
  • Hepatitis B: A routine screen at the first antenatal visit. Hepatitis B is highly contagious and can be easily passed on to the baby at the time of delivery. If results are positive, babies can be given an injection of hyperimmune hepatitis B immunoglobulin and started on a course of hepatitis B vaccinations soon after birth.
  • Toxoplasmosis: A very uncommon infection in Australia, but if acquired during pregnancy can result in miscarriage or damage to the baby’s nervous system.
  • Cytomegalovirus: CMV is the most common congenital infection in Australia today. If the mother is infected for the first time during pregnancy, it can cause developmental problems for the unborn child. Affected babies may show no symptoms at birth, but hearing, vision, neurological and intellectual disabilities may be detected later in early childhood.
  • Syphilis: Testing is a routine part of the first antenatal screen, and is repeated at 28 weeks if at risk.
 

Chemistry

  • Vitamin D: A routine test at the first antenatal visit and repeatedly after that if levels are too low.
  • Blook glucose: Many doctors screen all women for gestational diabetes, while others test only those who are at higher risk. It is common to perform a gestational glucose tolerance test between 24 and 26 weeks. It affects about 10-20% of women and the risk increases with maternal age.
 

Haematology

  • FBE: The test gives a good indication of general health, including haemoglobin and platelet levels. Low platelet levels may indicate pre-eclampsia. Patients are typically asked to have a FBE at the first antenatal visit and again at 28 weeks, and often once more at 36 weeks.
  • Iron studies: This measures serum iron, ferritin and transferrin for ongoing monitoring during pregnancy to ensure levels do not get too low.
 

Hormones

  • Human chorionic gonadotropin test: More sensitive than the urine test, results can assist the doctor in working out when the patient’s baby will be born and determine whether the pregnancy is developing normally or not.
  • TSH: Thyroid hormone is essential for normal development of the baby during pregnancy. During the first half of pregnancy, the presence of thyroid hormones in the developing baby is entirely dependent on the mother since the baby’s thyroid does not begin to function until the 2nd trimester. Thyroid hormone levels in the mother do change during pregnancy.