Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
Maternal Newborn Nursing

Introduction

Maternal Newborn NursingIntroduction
Ultrasound image of fetus in utero.
Figure 13.1 Prenatal Ultrasound Ultrasonography allows expectant parents to “see” their growing fetus. (credit: “Late second trimester ultrasound” by Robyn Alvarez/Flickr, CC BY 4.0)

Chapter Outline

13.1 Prenatal Testing during the First Trimester
13.2 Prenatal Testing during the Second Trimester
13.3 Prenatal Testing during the Third Trimester

Prenatal screening and diagnostic tests are recommended to provide baseline information. Ultrasound can provide information such as gestational age, congenital abnormalities, and the condition of a fetus in a high-risk pregnancy. Blood tests are used to determine blood type, Rh status, antibodies, STIs, genetic abnormalities, anemia, and gestational diabetes. Expectant parents are educated on the reasons for, and risks and benefits of, prenatal testing when deciding to have prenatal testing performed. Some prenatal tests should be performed at specific times throughout the first, second, and third trimesters. It is important that these tests are performed at the appropriate time. This chapter outlines the different types of prenatal testing for the first, second, and third trimesters.

PreviousNext
Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/maternal-newborn-nursing/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/maternal-newborn-nursing/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Jun 25, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.