Congrats mom and dad! After processing and digesting the news, it’s time to finally sit down with a calm heart and really think through what the next steps are before meeting your baby!
Start with the pregnancy basics
- The best first thing you should be doing is book an appointment with your doctor, if you don’t already have a gynaecologist. Your doctor may recommend a gynaecologist to you after gathering your personal and social details.
- Or you can always choose your doctor! You’ll be seeing your obstetrician a lot over the coming months during your pregnancy, so it’s important to find a good match with someone you can really trust on.
- And of course, babies cost money, so figure out your finances if government or private healthcare facilities works best for you. Generally, you would need to attend at least 8 antenatal check-ups or more depending on your pregnancy journey, and each visit can be charged up to RM200 though this may vary each time for private sector, while government sector would be free of charge. Once you’ve made up your mind, schedule your first prenatal appointment as soon as you can. This will provide you the basic proper care that you need to have a healthy pregnancy.
- Another thing to do is whether to announce your pregnancy right away. Some women wait until after the first trimester when the risk of miscarriage drops. It’s of course, entirely up to you. You may also consider how would you make the news – is it in person? via a phone/video call? or by picture or a video? Aiks! Fun right? 😉
Plan ahead
- Now that you’ve got a doctor and proper prenatal care, prep yourself on what’s coming up in the months ahead with the changes you might expect! We have gathered some information for your read here.
- Figure out your finances as mentioned earlier, babies do cost big bucks! Do what you can now to get your savings ready for your bundle of joy!
- Plan your birth. A record of where you would like to give birth, usage of pain relief or method of delivery.
- Plan your afterbirth care on how you would like your afterbirth care to be, such as, to have a confinement nanny or be in a confinement centre.
References
- I'm pregnant: What do I do now? | BabyCenter [Internet]. BabyCenter. 2022 [cited 25 February 2022]. Available from: https://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy/health-and-safety/pregnant-now-what_10338393
- Pregnancy Guide: Expenses To Expect When Expecting | CompareHero [Internet]. CompareHero | Compare Credit Card, Personal Loan & Insurance in Malaysia. 2022 [cited 25 February 2022]. Available from: https://www.comparehero.my/parenting/articles/pregnancy-guide-expenses
Leave a Reply