The visits
After around 28 weeks of the pregnancy, your pregnancy visits will be scheduled a little more frequently. However, the timing of each visit can vary, depending on when your last visit was (26, 27, 28 or 29 weeks), your individual needs and your caregiver's preferences. In the past, pregnancy visits during the 3rd trimester were routinely scheduled as follows:
| |
 |
Every 2 weeks from about 28 weeks until about 36 weeks. |
|
Every week from about 36 weeks until the birth. |
However, recent research has shown that antenatal visits can be performed less often (3 weekly, earlier on and 2 weekly later on), being acceptable for women whose pregnancies are progressing normally. This has led to an increasing trend for caregivers and hospitals to space out routine pregnancy visits. Some examples of the timing of visits can be:
| |
|
27, 30, 33, 36, 38, 39, 40 and 41 weeks. |
|
28, 31, 34, 36, 38, 39 40 and 41 weeks. |
|
29, 32, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41 weeks. |
Even so, many caregivers still see women at the standard 2 weekly intervals until 36 weeks and then weekly after that and some women will request to be seen this often because they prefer to have more contact with their caregiver. However, other women prefer less frequent contact, especially if this is not their first baby.
There are some circumstances that make it more likely for a woman to be seen at more standard intervals, or perhaps even more often than expected during the later phase of their pregnancy. These include: