I peed on a stick - now what?

Maybe you’ve been trying for a while, or maybe it came as a complete surprise — but here you are, staring at a positive pregnancy test. What do you do next?

Establishing Care in Early Pregnancy

At Andaluz Waterbirth Center, we are able to support clients from that first positive pregnancy test onward!

At-home urine test are highly accurate when they return a positive result. They are designed to detect HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), a hormone that is only created when a fertilized egg has implanted to the uterus. HCG rises rapidly in early pregnancy and can be easily detected in urine.

There is no need to have your pregnancy confirmed by another clinic or provider before making an appointment with us.

Scheduling a Tour

After you get your positive home pregnancy test, the next step to establishing care at Andaluz is to schedule a tour of our birth center.

At the tour, we will show you our birth suites and common areas. We will have plenty of time to answer your questions and encourage you to bring a list of questions that are top of mind for you as you consider your priorities in choosing a birth location. We will also take time to familiarize you with the midwifery model of care, and share how our community birth practice operates.

Confirmation of Pregnancy Appointment

After you complete a tour, you are ready to book your first prenatal appointment with your Andaluz midwife.

We call these first appointments Confirmation of Pregnancy Appointments. We can book them as early as 6 weeks, but we encourage them to be made around 10-12 weeks.

At your first appointment, your Andaluz midwife will go through your health history, perform a thorough risk assessment to ensure that you are a good candidate for out-of-hospital birth, and if possible, listen to your baby’s heartbeat.

Hearing Your Baby’s Heartbeat

Our midwives used handheld dopplers to listen to fetal heartbeats. These dopplers are used externally, with the wand placed on your lower abdomen.

The earliest that handheld dopplers are able to detect fetal heartbeats is around 10 weeks, which is why we recommend waiting until around 10 weeks to schedule your Confirmation of Pregnancy Appointment.

Figuring Out Your Due Date

Calculating your due date can be a little tricky—but we’re here to help!

Due dates are often estimated based on the date of your last menstrual period. That means that you start counting the weeks of your pregnancy before you actually conceived your baby. By the time you miss your period and take a pregnancy test, which usually occurs about 2 weeks after conception, you are considered to be about 4 weeks pregnant.

This method doesn’t take into account fluctuations in normal menstrual cycles. Some people have longer or shorter cycles. Some people ovulate earlier or later in a given cycle. Some people might have cycles that are so irregular that they aren’t sure of the date of their last cycle.

An accurate way to establish a due date is through a first trimester ultrasound. These are often called “dating ultrasounds.” They are most accurate when they are done before 14 weeks. At these ultrasounds, your baby is measured from the crown of its head to its buttocks, and that measurement is used to determine the baby’s gestational age and thus your due date.

We offer in-house ultrasounds at Andaluz, including first trimester dating ultrasounds. We can perform abdominal ultrasounds as early as 8 weeks, and transvaginal ultrasounds as early as 6 weeks.

Blood Test in Early Pregnancy

HCG, that hormonal marker of pregnancy, can also be detected via a blood test. Positive at-home urine tests are so accurate that blood test are usually not necessary, but our midwives can order HGC blood tests for those with a history of miscarriage or other medical concerns.

We offer a comprehensive OB panel to all clients. This panel determines your blood type, checks your iron levels, and screens for diseases that can impact your pregnancy.

We also offer genetic carrier screening tests and non-invasive prenatal screening tests (NIPS). NIPS is a blood test that isolates your baby’s DNA from your blood and can screen for chromosomal abnormalities, such Down syndrome. NIPS can be used to tell you your baby sex if desired, and is usually done around 10 weeks.

Next Steps

Do you have any questions about the next steps to establishing prenatal care for your new pregnancy? Reach out to us any time!