Pregnancy blood tests are essential for monitoring maternal and fetal health, detecting complications, and assessing hormone levels, blood type, and infections. They also help in early detection of genetic abnormalities. Regular testing ensures a safer, healthier pregnancy journey for both mother and child.
If you’re early in your pregnancy or are waiting to confirm pregnancy, you should have some lab work done to check for infections and antibody levels, confirm your blood type, check for anemia, thyroid function, etc. Your primary care provider will provide you with the requisition or you can schedule an appointment with one of our team members to order your initial prenatal lab work.
When you are between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, it is recommended to be screened for diabetes using the glucose tolerance test. You will be given a sugary beverage and a blood sample will be collected one hour later. The entire appointment may take up to 90 minutes. Your lab results will be sent directly to the ordering provider (i.e. midwife, family physician, nurse practitioner, or obstetrician). If you need a requisition, please schedule an appointment with one of our nurse practitioners before scheduling your appointment.
If your provider suspects that you have gestational diabetes based on the Gestational Diabetes Screen, you may have the Glucose Tolerance Test ordered. You need for fast (not eat) overnight and the nurse will collect a blood sample to check your blood glucose. You will be given a sugary beverage and will have two more blood samples collected at the 1 hour mark and again at the 2 hour mark. In total, the entire appointment is expected to take about two and a half hours. Results will be sent directly to the ordering provider.
