If you have a positive pregnancy test result at home, call Atlanta Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialists to schedule an appointment for your obstetrical assessment. If you are not yet taking prenatal vitamins, call for a prescription or you can use a reputable over-the-counter prenatal vitamin containing iron and folic acid. We encourage you to sign up for our office patient portal platform known as “Follow My Health.” Our website has several links to this helpful tool. The program allows you access to your medical information so that you can easily make an appointment, ask a question, and review your own lab results. If a lab result is abnormal, we will contact you. There are some basic recommendations that you should follow once you become pregnant and leading up to your first OB appointment: Avoid smoking, alcohol, and recreational drugs: All of these activities increase the risk of miscarriage, bleeding, delivering smaller babies, premature babies, babies with developmental delays, and other serious complications. Also avoid second-hand smoke. Limit caffeine: Moderate caffeine consumption (less than 200mg per day) is not shown to be a major contributing factor in miscarriage or preterm birth. The relationship of caffeine to growth restriction remains undetermined. Artificial sweetener safety: Avoid substitute sweeteners similar to saccharine (the pink package). It does cross the placenta and there is not enough data collected on its safety. You can use Equal or Splenda in limited quantities, however recent data suggests artificial sweeteners may be associated with glucose intolerance. Avoid NSAIDS: NSAIDS are a group of pain and anti-inflammatory medications that can be purchased over the counter. This includes Motrin, Advil, Ibuprofen, Aleve, and aspirin. There are certain conditions in which a daily baby aspirin is recommended. Tylenol as directed is safe to take in pregnancy.