What are the items in the second prenatal check-up?

Women must undergo prenatal check-ups after they become pregnant. It is a routine check-up that pregnant women must undergo because it is one of the ways to ensure the health of mother and baby. It plays an important role in preventing abnormalities or unhealthy conditions in the mother and baby. Therefore, prenatal check-ups cannot be ignored. Pregnant women have many prenatal checkups during pregnancy. Generally speaking, the second prenatal checkup starts from the 6th to 18th week after a woman becomes pregnant. So, what will be included in the second prenatal checkup?

The second examination mainly includes the following items: (16-18 weeks) obstetric examination (including fetal heart Doppler), blood type (ABO, Rh), routine blood test, routine urine test, renal function (3 items), liver function (5 items), hepatitis B two-pair-and-a-half test, hepatitis C virus antibody, syphilis serum antibody, blood sugar, maternal blood screening for Down syndrome or amniocentesis, etc.

1. Full body check-up, such as weight, to measure weight gain; blood pressure, which may be slightly lower during pregnancy than before pregnancy; edema, urine sugar, and proteinuria

2. Obstetric examination, routine prenatal examination, such as vaginal discharge examination. Examination items: cleanliness of leucorrhea, Candida and Trichomonas, clue cells.

3. Down syndrome screening. Prenatal screening for Down syndrome is a relatively economical, simple, and non-destructive test method for the fetus to identify high-risk individuals for carrying a fetus with congenital idiocy among expectant mothers. The incidence of congenital idiocy is 1/1000 (newborn), which is one of the main causes of severe congenital intellectual disability. Normal couples may also give birth to children with congenital idiocy, and the incidence rate increases with the increase of mother's age.

4. Amniocentesis can examine fetal chromosomes and diagnose various abnormalities in the structure or number of fetal chromosomes (such as Down syndrome). > Pregnant women over 35 years old, who have given birth to children with congenital abnormalities, who have a family history of genetic diseases, who are at risk of having a malformed fetus, who have had a fetus with chromosomal abnormalities, whose mothers’ Down syndrome screening tests show they are in the high-risk group, or whose parents have chromosomal abnormalities, have a higher chance of having a fetus with chromosomal abnormalities and should undergo amniocentesis. The results will be available in about 2-3 weeks. If the fetus has serious chromosomal abnormalities, the pregnancy can be terminated. Unlike chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis does not harm the fetus itself, but only slightly increases the chance of miscarriage (0.5%).

Although the second prenatal check-up involves many items and is time-consuming, it allows us to understand the physical condition of the pregnant woman and the growth and development of the fetus in a timely manner, ensuring the health and safety of the mother and baby and avoiding the birth of deformed and unhealthy children. This is also a responsible behavior towards the fetus and the family. Therefore, pregnant women are reminded to go to relevant hospitals for routine prenatal check-ups in a timely manner to ensure the health and safety of themselves and their children.