Getting Ready for Baby
Prenatal Care
Without Prenatal Careyou and your baby are FIVE TIMES more likely to be at risk for death due to complications.
Prenatal care is extremely important to begin as soon as you believe you are pregnant. In addition to doctor visits, prenatal care may require changes to your eating, drinking, and smoking habits.
Important blood work tests, sonograms, and family medical history early on in pregnancy can help prevent or treat various risk factors for both you and the baby.
It is important to get your prenatal care as early as possible, follow the recommendations of your qualified health care provider, and keep your appointments throughout your pregnancy to greatly reduce health risks for both you and your baby.
Are prenatal vitamins worth it?
What if I can’t afford them?
Get FREE VitaminsIf you are pregnant and not able to afford prenatal vitamins, City of Amarillo Public Health will provide a month's supply as needed and while supplies last.
Prenatal multivitamins that include folic acid help to support your baby’s developing brain and spinal cord.
Folic acid helps to reduce the risk of spina bifida (a birth defect of the spinal cord) and anencephaly (missing portions of the brain) in infants. Also, prenatal vitamins are very important to help you have the nutrients you need for yourself since pregnancy pulls extra nutrients to use. A lack of nutrients can lead to osteoporosis (loss of bone thickness).
Learn more aboutSafe Moms' Class
Postpartum Care
Post birth (postpartum) care is an ongoing process in the weeks that follow birth, not just a single appointment.
Discuss a postpartum care plan with your health care provider before you give birth. This helps you have a strategy after the baby is born to take care of yourself and know what to look for if you need to get medical help.
Choosing a doctor
Only you can decide which are the most important considerations for you – it’s a very personal decision.
Keep in mind that you may be able to narrow your list of choices with a simple phone call. There’s no need to meet with a doctor who isn’t in your network of providers if that’s a requirement for your insurance coverage.
Questions for your doctor
Ask Yourself
Before you move on to someone else, you might want to talk to the doctor about your concerns. If the problem can’t be resolved, or your worries aren’t addressed, don’t hesitate to change obstetricians or consider whether a midwife might be a better fit for you.
Transportation Assistance
Need a ride?Look at your insurance card, and contact your insurance company (Superior, First Care, or Amerigroup) to find out how to get a ride to your medical appointment. Your Medicaid can sometimes arrange transportation, but you will need to call in advance to make arrangements.
Birth Plans
A birth plan is not required to give birth but is a tool you can use to help you communicate your wishes and needs with your health care team and anyone else who might be there to support you (such as your partner) about best approaches for a safe and healthy delivery of your baby.
To help develop your birth plan, start with a list of things you want to consider, such as pain management, type of delivery, birth location, and the health care provider you want to use. Then, use your list to talk to your doctor about creating a strategy best for you. Often, health care providers have a “routine” they follow for patients, but can change that (within reason), when asked. Having your birth plan helps the communication between you and your health care provider become more personal about ways to adjust your birthing process to your needs.
Questions to help create your birth plan
These questions are recommended by the American Pregnancy Association. If you find that a question does not apply to you, skip it.Finding a doula
A doula is not a midwife, but is a trained advocate to help you with education, support, and communication.
Doulas are not health care professionals, but they can help you communicate with your health care provider to understand what is happening during pregnancy, when giving birth, and afterwards so you can make decisions, if needed.
Some doulas charge by the hour, while others will charge a flat fee for the entire pregnancy and potentially in-home postpartum care. Cost can vary from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on who you hire and what they offer.
See doula resources
After Birth
Planning your next steps
The birth of your baby, while exciting, presents a lot of new changes, appointments, and decisions.
We have a list of resources and information for immediately after birth and in the first 8 weeks postpartum as well as care for yourself long term after the baby is born, and information on infant health.
Your health after birth
Safe Moms’ Class
The City of Amarillo offers a FREE class for pregnant mothers and mothers of children under one-year-old that covers everything you need to do to prepare for your baby and keep them safe.
Topics include
Safe Sleep for Infants
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and suffocation are major safety concerns for newborns
Each year, about 3,500 infants die from sleep-related deaths in the United States.
There are steps you - and everyone who cares for your baby - can take to ensure safe infant sleep. Following these steps for the first year of your baby’s life will help you and your baby sleep safe and sound.
- Place your baby on their back to sleep for every sleep, including naps.
- Use a firm, flat mattress (not inclined) with a well-fitted sheet.
- Feed your baby only breastmilk for six months and continue breastfeeding for at least two years.
- Share your room with your baby. Keep baby near your bed on their own safety-approved sleep surface like a crib, bassinet, or portable play yard with no other people or pets.
- Keep everything out of your baby’s sleep area – no blankets, pillows, quilts, bumper pads, crib liners, sitting devices, toys, or other objects.
- Avoid placing your baby to sleep on a couch, armchair, or seating device like a swing, baby seat, or car safety seat (except when in a car).