I had one when I was 6 weeks on my first visit to
the Doctor I had my second appointment last friday
my next appt, I will be 15 weeks pregnant when is the next blood test and what does it check for and about how many tubes do they take?
How many more do you have to go through during the pregnancy? I mean the one that is drawn from your arm. I hate needles.
I am 11 weeks pregnant now.
If there us anyone out there afraid of needles like me I know I am going to get the epidural how bad does it hurt. What are some things I can do to prepare for the pain. Plus the Iv. I know when they are drawing the blood I am like hurry up and take the needle out does the Iv create alot of pain like the blood tests? Thank you.

I never had any blood tests done while I was pregnant so I can't answer your question as to how often they are. Nor did I have an epidural, I just chose to go totally natural. You really should ask your doctor about how often the tests are and what the epidural is like. Or if you plan on taking a lamaze class they will explain it there. As far as the IV goes, that I can tell you about. I'm no fan of needles myself and prefer to stay as far from them as possible. The IV is nothing, and I really mean it. You won't even know it's there unless you look. I didn't feel a thing even when they hooked it up. You should go to your library and check out the book "What to Expect When Your Expecting" to see if it can help calm some of your fears. If it doesn't then please talk to your doctor instead of having to worry throughout your pregnancy. Good Luck and Happy Labor Day when it comes around!

I have given birth to 4 children and have had my share of needles. Believe me, it is not that bad. Actually, I think I was pretty afraid of the first few. Then, I realized I psyched myself up for something that really didn't hurt, then I relaxed , and it was no big deal. By the time the iv and epidural rolled around, I can't say I even remember them, so they really could not have been so bad. Relax, enjoy your pregnancy, (believe me, someday you will!). You will do just fine.Congratulations!!!

I've noticed that you have a lot of questions posted here. I see you're getting some great answers, but I'll add one I haven't seen yet.

You might want to think about getting involved with WIC (Women/Infants/Children), if you're not already. They're a free service for lower income people (if that applies to you), and they do a lot more than just give cheese and milk coupons!

I'm not low income, but they took my wife in for appointments anyway, and she got a second opinion on just about everything the doctor said. She got some great referrals to other agencies (I think Le Leche League is their favorite), and they gave her a lot of free information materials. We even got some women to visit at home to help her out from time to time, like to help with learning to feed.

I am far from low income.
I could ask my doctor about his stuff but I want the opinions of different ladies about this stuff we all have different experiences.
Sure you could read about it in a book but it is very vague. I am also just trying to add more questions to this site.

I think it is very important that you speak to your doctor. I understand wanting different opinions, wanting to learn about different womens' experiences, but you have to keep in mind that no two womens' experiences will be the same and no two doctors are the same. One doctor might test you at every appointment, some may only do one blood test the entire pregnancy. That is why it's best to discuss this with your doctor. Only he will know what he has in store for you.
And as to your question about epidurals... I will give you my honest opinion: I think they are a bad idea. Sure, it's great for the mother because she's all numb and can't feel a thing, but the mother also cannot do anything to help the baby. She cannot push correctly or enough, to help the baby come out, putting the baby in even more danger.
If it is at all possible for you, you should try to have fully natural childbirth. Drugs and medication may be nice for you but they can seriously harm your baby.
Good luck!

It's been so long for me, but I am horrified of needles too. You have to do it for you health and the health of your baby. I know that they type and cross match you blood just in case there is a need an emergency blood transfusion. I would probably say that they do the usual CBC and Chem 7. Both are very common blood test. The CBC analyses the blood cells by differentiation. They are usually looking for anemia. That would be a low red blood cell (RBC if you do see the results) count or any other abnormality. The Chem 7 analyses electrolytes. It will take a separate vial for each test run. There may be other testing as well. I believe I had titers run to check for immunization of things that can cause birth defects. You only get stuck once. Some people are very good at blood draws, others are not. Make sure you get someone that is well practiced, ask. Your doctor can explain what testing he is ordering and what it is for.

Usually they only run a small battery of tests. To measure your iron levels, in case you are anemic. And the AFP (alpha fetal protein) They don't take much more than a few tubes of blood, and it doesn't take very long. Sometimes because of family history etc they will also run a glucose test to see how your body reacts to to much glucose, and it can rule out gestational diabetes. In the military hospital we had more test run that in the outside doctor offices. But the AFP test was the first indication on my 1st pregnancy that somthing was wrong. And I believe it was taken between my 13th and 16th week.

Epidurals are great when handling pain during childbirth. I didn't have one on my first delivery and I didn't handle the pain well at all. On my last pregnancy I had the epidural line placed while I was having light contractions so that once the bad ones started I didn't have to stay still to have it put in, plus I could move around and stuff while waiting for the hard labor to start. Once it did I just laid in the bed and they connected the medicine to the line and no more pain. And they are very safe for the baby, regardless of what you have heard or was told to you. The medication blocks the pain, but you still feel the tightening and the urge to push. By the time you are going to push it is most likely that the medication will be wearing off. You can ask for the lowest dose so that it just takes the edge off the pain. Birth is traumatic for babies regardless of natural or pain managed, but the high adrenaline levels of a mother in severe pain who is unable to focus on the delivery is much more dangerous that a mother who is comfortable enough to listen to instruction and concentrate on the delivery at hand. Your body can deliver a baby without you pushing, it just takes longer.

When I was pregnant with my son (he's 26), I had blood drawn early on, and then when I went in to have him. Every month, the doctor's nurse would stick my finger, though. With my daughter (she's 13), I had a blood test at about 4 1/2 months to check my chemicals, etc., and to check for immunity to diseases. (I'm immune to measles.) I had an epidural with her. It really wasn't bad. The anesthesiologist gave me some shots first to numb the area where he would stick me. And in no time, I was numb from mid-chest to my toes! No pain! And that's right about the IV's - you don't know they're there. When you get stuck, focus on how good it'll feel when it's over, and then it will be! Godspeed!