Pregnancy - General Information

On this information page, I would like to inform you of a few important points with regard to childbirth preparation. Additionally, as further information on the theme of pregnancy and childbirth, our practice team will also give you special informative materials. According to applicable childbirth guidelines, in the course of your pregnancy you will undergo several blood tests, the costs of which the statutory health insurance carriers cover.
These include:

• Blood typing including Rh-factor
• Blood type antibodies, followed by further studies if indicated
• Rubella antibodies
• Screening procedure for Hepatitis B
• Testing for sexually transmitted diseases
• Aids test

Although we gynaecologists have recommended and encouraged several other tests for many years, thus far they have unfortunately not yet been included in the pregnancy care programme of statutory health insurance carriers.
These include, in particular:

• The screening procedure for toxoplasmosis, a flu-like infection that in itself is harmless but which, should its initial infectious form occur during pregnancy and not be recognised and treated, is a threat to the health of your child.
• In addition, it is also advisable to determine your immunity situation against other pathogens that can endanger your pregnancy. These include the following: listeriosis bacteria, cytomegaly virus, parvovirus (fifth disease = Erythema infectiosum), Varicella (=chicken pox).
• As early as the commencement of pregnancy, it is a good idea to have the AFP (alpha-1-fetoprotein) determined by a blood test in order to rule out possible serious damage to the foetus (for example, 'split spine' Spina bifida).
• From a medical point of view, it is advisable to have a glucose tolerance test between the 20th and 24th week of pregnancy. By means of this test, special forms of gestational (pregnancy) diabetes (no evidence of sugar in the urine) can be discovered early enough for counter-measures to be commenced. Unrecognised gestational diabetes represents a high risk for the unborn child!
  According to current maternity guidelines, women insured by a statutory health insurance carrier are entitled, during an unremarkable course of pregnancy, to three ultrasound examinations. These should be carried out in the 9th-12th week, the 19th-20th week and the 29th-32nd week of pregnancy.
• We offer additional intensive ultrasound studies on request. These can be useful in discovering possible problems at an early stage in the course of a pregnancy by means of better and more secure monitoring.
• Starting in the 22nd week of pregnancy, a special Doppler sonogram is useful, which can provide information about how your child is being supplied with maternal nutrients.
• Additionally, we offer so-called 'baby television' (including with relatives and friends). Such on-request sonography, of which you determine the time, can provide a look at your infant’s living situation.

Supplementary blood tests and additional ultrasound studies, if your pregnancy is progressing normally, are not routinely covered by statutory health insurers! For this reason, if you wish to undergo these examinations, you must pay for them yourself according to the GOÄ (Physicians' Fee Scale). You can obtain details about this from our practice team.