The First 14 Weeks

You found out you're pregnant. Somewhere between the shock and the first appointment the questions start, and most of them arrive at two in the morning. How many weeks am I. Who do I see first. Is this normal. Is this normal. Is this normal. The First Fourteen Weeks is a short series about early pregnancy, made for women in Australia. One question per episode, answered plainly, by a midwife. Three to six minutes each. No preamble. I'm Jen Hazi. I'm a Registered and Endorsed Midwife in private practice in Paddington, Sydney, and I've spent seventeen years at births in every setting there is. Hospital, home, theatre, birth centre. I'm not here to talk you into any of them. Most of what comes up when you search these questions is American, or vague, or written to sell you something. Our food safety advice is different. So are our Medicare rebates, our hospitals, our costs, our leave entitlements and our pathways into care. This series is Australian, and where it matters, specific to New South Wales. WHAT'S COVERED The first fortnight. How many weeks pregnant you are, and why your due date might change after the scan. What to do first. Whether you see a GP or a midwife, and whether you need a referral. Where you can give birth in Sydney and what each option actually is, from public hospital to midwifery group practice to homebirth. And what it costs, with real figures. Your body. What's normal in the first trimester and what isn't. Nausea, exhaustion, sore breasts, discharge, cramping, the metallic taste, the crying. When morning sickness stops being morning sickness and becomes something worth treating. Bleeding and pain, and when to call someone. What you can safely eat in Australia. What medications are safe. What supplements are evidence and what's marketing. And the questions you don't get around to asking in a fifteen-minute appointment. The decisions. What tests you'll be offered and what each one is looking for. NIPT and first trimester screening, including how to decide whether you want them, which almost nobody helps with. The twelve week scan. And how to ask a question in a room where you feel rushed. The rest of it. Telling people, telling work, your leave and your rights. And an episode for when the test is positive and what you feel is not what you expected to feel. There are also episodes for women who've had a caesarean, women who are pregnant after a loss, and women over thirty-five or pregnant through IVF. FOR PARTNERS Five episodes written to the partner, not about him. What actually happens over the next few months. Why she feels this bad and what helps. When to worry and what to do about it. How to be useful at appointments. And one about the fact that everyone is asking how she is, and nobody has asked how he is. There's a stack of information for her this early and almost nothing for him. WHO IT'S NOT FOR If you want to be told it will all be fine, I won't do that. I'll tell you what's known, what isn't, and where the decision is yours to make. If you're after affirmations, there are better places to find them. THE PRINTED VERSION There's a companion set you can print. A guide, a workbook, and a handful of single sheets, including one on when to call and who. That's the one worth putting on the fridge. It's free at jenniferhazi.com.au/first-trimester. This is general information about pregnancy, not advice about you. It doesn't replace the care of your own midwife, GP or maternity service, and it can't account for what's particular about your pregnancy. If you're worried about yourself or your baby, contact your maternity service or go to your nearest emergency department. Don't wait to be sure.