WHO writes its antenatal schedule in weeks, with a minimum of eight contacts. Egypt’s Ministry of Health lists at least five examinations at primary-care units. The visit table by trimester, which scans and tests WHO marks, where care is given in Egypt, what to bring, and the warning signs that mean going to the emergency department now.
WHO’s antenatal schedule is written in weeks, not months. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least eight antenatal contacts: the first within 12 weeks, then at 20, 26, 30, 34, 36, 38 and 40 weeks (WHO’s 2016 summary table). Egypt’s Ministry of Health lists at least five examinations at its primary-care units (page read 23 October 2026).
This guide is a planner for the questions to ask, not a plan for you. How many visits you need, and when, is your doctor’s decision. It draws on WHO’s 2016 antenatal-care guideline and its 2022 ultrasound update, three Egyptian official pages and the pages listed under Sources, all read on 23 October 2026. It names no clinic or hospital, and it cannot tell you what is normal for your pregnancy.
In short:
- WHO’s model has eight contacts, counted in weeks: one in the first trimester, two in the second, five in the third, and a return for delivery at 41 weeks if the woman has not given birth.
- The Ministry of Health’s primary-care page lists at least five examinations during pregnancy. The two numbers come from different documents, so ask your own doctor for your schedule.
- Take your papers with you. WHO recommends that each pregnant woman carries her own case notes.
- The warning signs listed below are not for the next appointment. Go to the nearest emergency department or call emergency services now.
Last checked: 23 October 2026, on the pages listed under Sources. Schedules, rules and services change, so confirm them with your doctor and the service itself.
Pregnancy follow-up month by month: how many visits are there?
WHO’s news item of 7 November 2016 says its new guidance raises the recommended number of antenatal contacts from four to eight, with the first in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy (read 23 October 2026).
WHO says “contact”, not “visit”. Its summary table says the word implies an active connection between a pregnant woman and a health care provider.
Months are not WHO’s unit. Its schedule uses weeks of gestation, and the NHS’s week-by-week guide divides pregnancy into three trimesters: the first covers weeks 4 to 12, the second weeks 13 to 27 and the third weeks 28 to 41 (read 23 October 2026). Because the schedule counts weeks, ask your doctor to write the week next to each date. WHO lists estimating gestational age among the reasons for the ultrasound scan.
Pregnancy follow-up by weeks: what is WHO’s schedule?
The table below follows WHO’s 2016 guideline, published on 28 November 2016. The marks come from the table that maps its recommendations to eight scheduled contacts, as reproduced in WHO South-East Asia’s summary (read 23 October 2026). The table has many more rows than this guide covers, so the last column lists only the items covered here.
| Trimester | Contact | Gestation | Items covered in this guide, marked at this contact in WHO’s table |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 1 | Up to 12 weeks | Ultrasound scan (one before 24 weeks); HIV testing and counselling; tetanus vaccination, depending on earlier vaccination; full blood count; midstream urine culture |
| Second | 2 | 20 weeks | Ultrasound scan (one before 24 weeks) |
| Second | 3 | 26 weeks | Full blood count; midstream urine culture |
| Third | 4 | 30 weeks | None of the items covered here |
| Third | 5 | 34 weeks | Midstream urine culture |
| Third | 6 | 36 weeks | Full blood count |
| Third | 7 | 38 weeks | None of the items covered here |
| Third | 8 | 40 weeks | None of the items covered here. The table adds a return for delivery at 41 weeks if the woman has not given birth. |
Source: WHO, 2016, table of recommendations mapped to eight scheduled contacts (South-East Asia summary), with the ultrasound line as re-affirmed by WHO on 28 March 2022. Read 23 October 2026. WHO labels the blood-count and urine-culture rows “context-specific recommendation”, so ask your doctor which items apply to you.
What WHO marks at every contact
Among the items WHO’s table marks at all eight contacts:
- Counselling about healthy eating and keeping physically active during pregnancy.
- Questions about tobacco use, past and present, and exposure to second-hand smoke, and about alcohol and other substances. WHO says providers should ask every pregnant woman as early as possible in the pregnancy and at every visit, so expect them.
When is the pregnancy ultrasound, and which tests come with the visits?
WHO’s 2016 table recommends one ultrasound scan before 24 weeks, to estimate gestational age, improve detection of fetal anomalies and multiple pregnancies, reduce induction of labour for post-term pregnancy, and improve a woman’s pregnancy experience. WHO’s update of 28 March 2022 re-affirms the recommendation of one scan before 24 weeks. The table marks the scan at the first two contacts, at 12 and 20 weeks (read 23 October 2026). How many scans your own doctor schedules is their decision.
The other marks in the table, as WHO words them (read 23 October 2026):
- Full blood count (CBC): WHO’s recommended method for diagnosing anaemia in pregnancy. Marked at 12, 26 and 36 weeks.
- Midstream urine culture: WHO’s recommended method for diagnosing asymptomatic bacteriuria, meaning bacteria in the urine without symptoms. Marked at 12, 26 and 34 weeks.
- HIV testing and counselling: WHO describes provider-initiated testing as a routine part of antenatal care in high-prevalence settings, and as something that can be considered in low-prevalence ones, together with syphilis and other tests as relevant to the setting. Marked at the first contact.
- Tetanus vaccination: WHO recommends it for all pregnant women, depending on previous tetanus vaccination exposure. Marked at the first contact. Bring your vaccination record.
In Egypt: where is pregnancy follow-up done, and who pays?
Three Egyptian official pages bear on this, and the table shows what each says. The numbers differ because the documents differ: WHO gives a global minimum of eight contacts, and the Ministry’s page lists at least five examinations at primary-care units. Do not read one as correcting the other. Ask your doctor for your own schedule.
| Where | What the official source says | Source, read 23 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Health primary-care units | Within the family medicine programme: medical and laboratory examination at least five times during pregnancy; treatment of anaemia; identifying high-risk pregnancies; advice on nutrition and preparing for birth; advice on family planning. | Ministry of Health: Mother and Child Health Administration (undated page) |
| The Presidential Initiative for Maternal and Fetal Health | Launched in March 2020. Described as a free medical examination: clinical examination with height, weight and blood pressure, tetanus vaccination, and blood and urine tests for anaemia, infections and diseases passed from mother to baby. Supplements and vitamins are described as free through pregnancy and after birth. Available at primary-care units and maternal and child centres in every governorate, with the woman’s consent before any test. | State Information Service, 3 March 2026 |
| Universal Health Insurance | The medical services package page names an obstetrics and gynaecology clinic among its outpatient clinics, and ultrasound and Doppler among its imaging services. It gives names only, with no number of pregnancy visits. | Universal Health Insurance Authority: medical services package |
| Health Insurance Organization | Ask the clinic recorded on your health card which pregnancy visits, scans and tests your cover includes. This guide does not list them. | Our suggestion |
| A private clinic or hospital | Ask the clinic for the schedule it proposes, what each visit includes and what is billed separately. | Our suggestion |
If you are not sure which scheme covers you, ask the scheme itself before you plan visits around it.
What should I bring to a pregnancy follow-up visit?
WHO’s table recommends that each pregnant woman carries her own case notes during pregnancy, to improve continuity, quality of care and her pregnancy experience. In practice, that is a folder you add to after every visit:
- Your case notes and every report you are given, in date order, with scan reports kept with their images.
- Your vaccination record, because WHO’s tetanus line depends on earlier vaccination.
- A list of the medicines you take, including any you buy without a prescription, and any allergy.
- Earlier test results, and the names of the doctors who have seen you.
How to set up a folder is in keep a personal health folder. Why dates matter on results is in questions to ask your doctor about your lab results, and how to prepare for a visit is in one page for a specialist visit. The tool below puts the details forms ask for every time, such as allergies, medicines and doctors, on one page you can print:
Try it
My health summary
The details forms ask for every time, on one page. Fill in what applies to you, then print it or keep a copy.
Your page
Your summary appears here as you fill it in.
Nothing you type is saved, not even in this browser, and nothing is sent unless you do it yourself. Update the page whenever a medicine or a condition changes.
Questions to ask at a follow-up visit:
- How many visits do you plan for me in total, and when is the next one?
- Which tests and scans are planned, and in which weeks?
- What should I bring next time?
- Will you check every medicine and supplement I take, including the ones I buy without a prescription?
- Which signs mean I should not wait for the next appointment, and where do I go?
- Can I have a copy of every result and scan report?
Which warning signs mean going to the emergency department now?
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists urgent maternal warning signs on a page dated 15 May 2024 (read 23 October 2026), and says to seek medical care immediately if you have any of the signs on it. Its list has 15 signs. These are the 14 that apply during pregnancy, in the CDC’s order:
- A headache that won’t go away or gets worse over time.
- Dizziness or fainting.
- Changes in your vision.
- A fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher.
- Extreme swelling of your hands or face.
- Thoughts about harming yourself or your baby.
- Trouble breathing.
- Chest pain or a fast-beating heart.
- Severe nausea and throwing up.
- Severe belly pain that doesn’t go away.
- Your baby’s movement stopping or slowing during pregnancy.
- Vaginal bleeding or fluid leaking during pregnancy.
- Severe swelling, redness or pain of your leg or arm.
- Overwhelming tiredness.
If you have any of these, go to the nearest emergency department or call emergency services now. Do not wait for the next appointment. The CDC’s list has one more sign, which applies after the birth. If something does not feel right, or you are not sure whether it is serious, the CDC says to talk to your health care provider and to tell them you are pregnant.
Where Medigize stands
Medigize is a navigation tool. It does not provide antenatal care, book pregnancy visits or interpret results. We are building a record that moves with the patient, shared only with their consent. If you would like to follow that work, you can register your interest.
Frequently asked questions
How many antenatal visits should I have?
WHO’s 2016 guideline recommends at least eight contacts, the first within 12 weeks. The Ministry of Health’s primary-care page lists at least five examinations during pregnancy (read 23 October 2026). Your doctor sets your own schedule.
How many weeks is each trimester?
On the NHS’s week-by-week guide, the first trimester covers weeks 4 to 12, the second weeks 13 to 27 and the third weeks 28 to 41 (read 23 October 2026). WHO’s table places its first contact, up to 12 weeks, in the first trimester.
When is the pregnancy ultrasound?
WHO recommends one ultrasound scan before 24 weeks, and its table marks it at the contacts at 12 and 20 weeks (2022 update, read 23 October 2026). How many scans you have is your doctor’s decision.
Which tests are part of pregnancy follow-up?
WHO’s table marks a full blood count, a midstream urine culture, HIV testing and counselling, and tetanus vaccination at set contacts. The Presidential Initiative’s page describes blood and urine tests for anaemia, infections and diseases passed from mother to baby, at primary-care units, described as free (3 March 2026). Your doctor decides which apply to you.
Is pregnancy follow-up free at Egypt’s primary-care units?
The State Information Service’s item of 3 March 2026 describes the Presidential Initiative’s examination, tests and supplements as free, at primary-care units and maternal and child centres. What an insurance scheme or a private clinic charges is set by them, so ask before you go.
What should I bring to a pregnancy follow-up visit?
Your case notes and reports in date order, your vaccination record, a list of your medicines and any allergy, and earlier test results.
Which signs mean going to the emergency department?
The CDC’s list above, such as a headache that won’t go away, trouble breathing, or your baby’s movement stopping or slowing. If you have any of them, go to the nearest emergency department or call emergency services now.
Medigize is a non-diagnostic navigation tool. This is general information, not medical advice. In an emergency, call an ambulance or go to the nearest emergency department.
Sources
- World Health Organization: WHO recommendations on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience (published 28 November 2016; the page lists later updates), read 23 October 2026
- World Health Organization, South-East Asia: 2016 WHO Recommendations: Antenatal Care for a Positive Pregnancy Experience (summary with the table of eight contacts), read 23 October 2026
- World Health Organization: New guidelines on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience (7 November 2016), read 23 October 2026
- World Health Organization: Maternal and fetal assessment update: imaging ultrasound before 24 weeks of pregnancy (28 March 2022), read 23 October 2026
- Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population: Mother and Child Health Administration (in Arabic, undated page), read 23 October 2026
- State Information Service: The Presidential Initiative for Maternal and Fetal Health screens 3.75 million pregnant women free of charge (in Arabic, 3 March 2026; the page also shows 5 March 2026), read 23 October 2026
- Universal Health Insurance Authority: medical services package (in Arabic), read 23 October 2026
- NHS: Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, read 23 October 2026
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Urgent maternal warning signs and symptoms (page dated 15 May 2024), read 23 October 2026
Last updated:
Explore Medigize
Medigize is in development. Explore our current scope and express your interest.