First Trimester Checklist: A Simple Guide to Early Pregnancy
Are you in your first trimester and wondering what to do now? These first few weeks of pregnancy can bring about lots of excitement and many questions. To make things a little simpler, I created this first trimester checklist to help you navigate early pregnancy one step at a time. We’ll walk through each item in more detail so you can feel more prepared for the weeks ahead. Praise the Lord for a new life!
First Trimester Checklist
- Start taking a prenatal vitamin with 400–800 mcg of folic acid daily
- Learn about common first-trimester symptoms and what to expect
- Schedule your first prenatal appointment
- Decide whether an OB-GYN or midwife is the right fit for your pregnancy
- Review your personal care, skincare, and household products for pregnancy safety
- Make healthy pregnancy food choices and learn which foods to avoid
- Find a pregnancy tracking app that works for you
- Identify trusted pregnancy and childbirth education resources
- Adjust your exercise routine as needed, with an emphasis on core and pelvic floor health
What Is the First Trimester?
The first trimester lasts from weeks 1 to 12. So many changes happen in both you and your baby at this time. In fact, the structures of the main body systems are formed at this time (1).
Start Taking a Prenatal Vitamin
In my post on Preparing for Pregnancy: A Nurse’s Guide to Preconception Health, I discussed the importance of nutrition and supplementation in pregnancy, especially with folic acid. If you have not already started a prenatal, now is the time!
Many prenatal vitamins contain the recommended amount, but talk with your healthcare provider about the dose that’s right for you, particularly if you have medical conditions or other risk factors. Personally, I use the Garden of Life Organics Prenatal Gummies Multivitamin.
What to Expect in the First Trimester
One of the most amazing things about pregnancy is that each one is completely unique. What one woman may experience is likely very different from another. However, there are some key things to be on the lookout for in this first trimester.
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Acne
- Breast tenderness
- Mood swings
- Changes in weight
Weight changes during the first trimester vary from woman to woman. Some women gain weight, while others may lose weight because of nausea and vomiting.
Schedule Your First Prenatal Appointment
Believe it or not, now is the time to schedule your first prenatal appointment with an OB or midwife. This first visit will look different based on your healthcare provider, but they often include a basic health history, assessment, blood and urine samples, and potentially and ultrasound.
Should You Choose an OB-GYN or Midwife?
Early in pregnancy, establishing prenatal care is an important first step. As you learn more about your options, you can consider which provider and birth setting best align with your needs and values. You may have the chance to explore different providers to identify what will work best for your family as time goes on.
Nursing Tip: When to Call Your Healthcare Provider
While many first-trimester symptoms are normal, please contact your healthcare provider if you experience symptoms such as significant vaginal bleeding, severe abdominal or pelvic pain, persistent vomiting, fever, fainting, or other symptoms that concern you.
Pregnancy-Safe Products: What to Avoid
A quick Google search will reveal a whole list of products and even foods to avoid when pregnant. Here are some of the most common. As always, check with your provider.
Healthy Food Choices in Pregnancy
Now, you are not necessarily eating for two, but you are thinking for two when you eat. In other words, the food that you eat is not only fueling your body but is building a whole new body (or two!). There are many great resources regarding nutrition in pregnancy. One you may want to consider is Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition.
The Best Pregnancy Tracking Apps
Discovering a pregnancy tracking app can be a helpful tool in measuring the progress of your pregnancy week by week. It can help to familiarize you with what to expect and the changes that are happening in your body and your baby’s body. The What to Expect app, for example, compares the size of your baby to a fruit each week. So fun.
Trusted Educational Resources
This part is really fun, but it can be challenging at times. The internet is full of resources, and it can feel overwhelming at times, but it does not have to be.
There are a variety of approaches to health, wellness, pregnancy, and labor. Below I have compiled a list of some of the most tried and true resources seasoned mothers recommend. Like most things, use the information as fuel to keep researching instead of taking everything written as the truth.
Pregnancy Book Recommendations PIC
Exercise During the First Trimester
Exercising during pregnancy is so important, offering benefits for both you and your growing baby. Some benefits include:
The Transverse Abdominis
However, the way you exercise may have to change as your baby grows. Targeting the transverse abdominis is very important, since it provides support to the uterus and back, among otherthings (2). Here is a good resource on some examples of exercises.
The Pelvic Floor
The pelvic floor is a mighty muscle that is often overlooked. You may have heard some mention “Kegels,” which is an exercise that strengthens the pelvic floor. Finding ways to strengthen these muscles (e.g. Kegels, core training, diaphragmatic breathing) support the growing weight of your uterus and keep the bladder and bowls in their place (allowing for proper control).
Relaxing and lengthening this muscle is also important, since it aids in delivery, bowel and bladder elimination, and even sexual health. Here is a video on How to Relax & Lengthen Your Pelvic Floor During Pregnancy. Seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist may be helpful. Dr. Mae Hughes has amazing educational and practical content for pregnancy and postpartum.
Final Encouragement in the First Trimester
Praise the Lord for new life. This is a time full of many emotions and changes, but the Lord remains the same. Friend, I’d encourage you to lean on Him all the more. Remember that this child is His, and He loves this child more than you ever could. While you as a mama have the responsibility to be intentional in this time, you cannot do all things perfectly. Trust in the Lord, learn from the mistakes, and press on. He is good.
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