Your 26-28 Week Visit
At the 26-28 week OB visit, you will have lab work done in addition to seeing the physician.
The labs are to recheck the Complete Blood Count (check for anemia), rechecking the RPR (Syphilis test), Antibody Screen (only if you are Rh negative) and the 1 hour Glucose Tolerance Test or GTT (testing for Gestational Diabetes). If you fail the 1 hour GTT, then you must do a 3 hour Glucose Tolerance Test on another day to confirm that you have Gestational Diabetes. If you are diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, then you will be scheduled a separate appointment with the Perinatal Nurse Educator to discuss your diagnosis, the recommended diet, and how to monitor your blood sugar.
If your blood type is Rh-negative, and your Antibody Screen is negative, then you will receive an injection of Rhophylac to help prevent the possible development of antibodies against the baby's blood type.
Some patients, if they meet certain criteria, will also do a 1 hour GTT earlier in pregnancy (usually at your first visit with your physician) but every OB patient (if not already diabetic) will do the testing at this visit.
Click below to download instructions for your GTT.
Our office offers Tdap (Tetanus-Diptheria-Pertussis) vaccination to all of our obstetric patients at the 26-28 week visit. Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a respiratory illness caused by a bacteria called Bordatella pertussis. It is highly contagious and spreads from person to person by coughing or sneezing. Many babies are infected by family members.
In order to protect newborns and infants from whooping cough, it is important that all pregnant women received the Tdap vaccine in the 3rd trimester of every pregnancy. Moms who receive the Tdap vaccine in pregnancy will develop protective antibodies and pass some of them to the baby before birth, providing the baby some short-term protection in early life.
It is also recommended that family members in the home with a newborn receive booster Tdap vaccinations. Family members should contact their primary care provider or go to their local health department for vaccination.
Centers for Disease Control Resources:
hwww.cdc.gov/pertussis/pregnant/mom/index.html