Pregnancy Care

Are you pregnant or planning to become pregnant soon? Regular visits to your obstetrician can help you and your baby stay healthy throughout your pregnancy. Dr. J. Gabriel Guajardo offers pregnancy care and gynecological services to women in the Brownsville, TX, area.

What does pregnancy care include?

Your OB/GYN provides a variety of services, testing, and treatments during your pregnancy, including:

• Prenatal Counseling: Prenatal counseling can help identify any issues that may affect your ability to become pregnant or carry a pregnancy to term. Counseling is recommended about six months before you plan to become pregnant.
• Periodic Office Visits: During your visits, your Brownsville OB/GYN will evaluate your health and recommend lifestyle and dietary changes that will help ensure that you have a healthy pregnancy. Visits will include an examination, weight checks, and blood pressure and urine tests. Blood pressure tests identify conditions that may affect your pregnancy, such as chronic hypertension or preeclampsia, while a urine test detects high blood sugar levels that can occur if you have gestational diabetes. Treating these diseases and conditions as soon as they are identified will help you and your baby remain healthy.
• Genetic Counseling: Genetic counseling may be recommended if there are any known genetic diseases in your family, you're over 35, you've had a child with a genetic defect, or you've had an abnormal result from a test.
• Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds are used to date your pregnancy and ensure that your baby is developing normally.
• Testing: Your OB/GYN may recommend blood or other tests throughout your pregnancy, including tests that can identify chromosomal abnormalities or defects, such as alpha-fetoprotein screening, amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. You'll also participate in a glucose challenge test, a screening that determines if you have gestational diabetes.
• Management of High-Risk Pregnancies: High-risk pregnancies require more frequent visits and closer supervision than other pregnancies. Your pregnancy may be considered high risk if you've had a pre-term delivery or recurrent miscarriages in the past, are carrying more than one baby, are 35 or older, or have placental problems, cervical insufficiency, high blood pressure, or pre-existing or gestational diabetes.
• Discussions About Labor and Delivery: During your last trimester, your doctor will provide information about what you can expect during labor and delivery and discuss your birth plan with you.

Pregnancy care is an important factor in a healthy pregnancy. If you're pregnant or planning to become pregnant, schedule an appointment with our Brownsville, TX, OB/GYN, Dr. Guajardo, at (956) 350-4821.