Pregnancy

✅Key checklist for this stage

• After a positive test, see an obstetrician for a first visit and confirm your due date.
• In Korea, register as a pregnant woman at your local public health center. Support such as folic acid and iron supplements varies by area.
• Get a pregnancy confirmation from your clinic and apply for the pregnancy and childbirth medical expense voucher on the National Happiness Card.
• Take folic acid from before conception through early pregnancy.
• Stop alcohol and smoking completely, and avoid secondhand smoke.
• Tell your doctor or pharmacist about any medicines, herbal remedies, or supplements you take.
• If you work, look into workplace protections during pregnancy and plan maternity and parental leave.

🩺Prenatal checkups

Prenatal checkups track the health of mother and baby and catch problems early. Typically visits are every 4 weeks until mid-pregnancy, every 2 weeks later on, and weekly near the due date. Exact intervals and tests depend on your clinic and situation.

Main tests include early blood and urine tests and ultrasound, first-trimester screening for fetal anomalies, a detailed mid-pregnancy ultrasound, gestational diabetes screening, and checks on the baby near term. Screening tests estimate risk rather than give a diagnosis, so ask your care team what each result means.

Blood pressure, weight, and urine are checked at each visit. Rising blood pressure or protein in the urine can point to preeclampsia and calls for closer monitoring.

🥗Folic acid and nutrition

Folic acid lowers the risk of neural tube defects. The neural tube forms very early, often before you know you are pregnant, so it is best to start when you are planning a pregnancy. The US CDC recommends 400 micrograms of folic acid daily for women who could become pregnant. If a previous pregnancy had a neural tube defect or you take certain medicines, you may need more, so talk with your doctor.

Iron needs rise from mid-pregnancy. When to start iron and how much should be decided with your doctor based on blood tests. You do not need to eat for two; a varied diet of vegetables, fruit, protein, and dairy is what matters. With morning sickness, eat small amounts often and drink enough fluids.

🚫What to avoid

• Alcohol: no safe amount during pregnancy is known. Avoid it throughout pregnancy.
• Cigarettes and e-cigarettes: they raise the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. Avoid secondhand smoke too.
• Raw or undercooked foods: raw beef, undercooked meat and eggs, and raw shellfish such as oysters carry risks of food poisoning, listeria, and toxoplasma. Cook them thoroughly.
• Avoid unpasteurized milk and cheese and chilled ready-to-eat food that has been kept a long time.
• Avoid large fish that may be high in mercury (such as shark and swordfish); eat other fish cooked and in moderation.
• Cut back on caffeine. It is in green tea, energy drinks, and chocolate as well as coffee.
• Do not take medicines, herbal remedies, or supplements on your own. Ask a doctor or pharmacist even about cold medicine.
• Wear gloves or let someone else handle cat litter and gardening soil.
• Do not stay long in saunas or hot rooms that raise your body temperature a lot.

🚨Go to the hospital right away if

• You have vaginal bleeding (call even if it is light)
• You have severe or cramping abdominal pain
• Fluid that may be amniotic fluid is leaking
• You have regular tightening or pain before 37 weeks
• The baby's movements are clearly fewer than usual or you cannot feel them
• You have a severe headache, blurred or flashing vision, or sudden swelling of the face or hands
• You have a fever of 38°C or higher, or keep vomiting and cannot keep water down

🏛️Pregnancy support in Korea

In Korea, once pregnancy is confirmed, people covered by National Health Insurance (including dependents) can receive a pregnancy and childbirth medical expense voucher on the National Happiness Card. It can be used for prenatal checkups and childbirth-related care, and multiple pregnancies receive more. After getting a pregnancy confirmation from your clinic, apply through a card company, the National Health Insurance Service, or online.

Registering at a public health center gives access to folic acid and iron supplements, prenatal tests, and childbirth classes, depending on the area. After birth, programs such as the First Meeting Voucher, the Parent Allowance, and the Child Allowance follow.

• Workplace protections such as reduced working hours during pregnancy and time off for prenatal checkups
• Medical expense support for high-risk pregnancies (with eligible conditions and income criteria)
• Local government support such as transport or postpartum care support for pregnant women

🧳Getting ready and caring for yourself

Mood swings during pregnancy are common. But if you feel depressed or anxious for more than two weeks and it affects sleep, eating, or daily life, it may be prenatal depression, so mention it at your checkup. You do not have to cope alone.

• Check the route and travel time to your birth hospital, including the night entrance.
• Install an infant car seat in advance. You need it from the day you leave the hospital.
• Prepare a firm, flat mattress for the baby without soft blankets or pillows.
• Talk with your partner about the timing of leave and how to share housework.

💬FAQ