Medical treatment during your pregnancy

Receive extra health checks during pregnancy with SBK

Will it be a boy or a girl? This question is certainly exciting for parents-to-be. The most important thing, however, is that you and your baby are well taken care of. Comprehensive antenatal medical care is intended to ensure that health risks to the mother or child are detected early on. With the very first health checks, you are laying the most important foundations for ensuring you and your baby are both doing well.

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Prenatal care – your SBK benefits:

Your health knows no office hours – our medical experts on our SBK Health Telephone for Families are there for you around the clock, including at weekends and on public holidays. Call 0800 072 572 570 01 (free of charge within Germany).

Are you looking for a good gynaecologist? Your SBK consultant will find you gynaecologists in your area who have been highly rated by patients and recommended by doctors.

We want you to feel safe – that’s why we support you financially within the framework of our SBK Family-Plus with additional, selected check-ups worth €300.

For all prescription medication and treatments (e.g. physiotherapy) that your doctor prescribes for you due to pregnancy, we cover 100% of the costs – you do not need to make any co-payments.

Medical care during pregnancy includes a big check-up at the beginning of the pregnancy as well as regular check-ups with three ultrasound examinations for a medically unremarkable pregnancy.

Of course, we take care of all other health checks, too, provided that these are medically necessary. Your doctor will decide which additional examinations are important for you. Your doctor can then invoice us directly for these additional check-ups via your SBK healthcare card. In particular, women with high-risk pregnancies are likely to need additional check-ups, such as extra ultrasound screenings, as the doctor sees fit. You can find more information about which additional check-ups are possible with SBK on the SBK Family-Plus page.

So that you know which examinations are due when during your pregnancy, our preventive care plan gives you an overview from the first day until the birth.

Preventative care plan during pregnancy

When?	What examination will be conducted?	What will be investigated?
At the beginning of pregnancy	General anamnesis and consultation	Discussion of general questions concerning the health status of the pregnant woman, the vaccination status and, for example, family burdens, as well as advice on important issues in pregnancy such as Nutrition and consumption of luxury foods Taking medication Work, sport and travel during pregnancy Antenatal classes and exercises Cancer screening tests during pregnancy
In the first few weeks of pregnancy	Blood test and urine test	In the first few weeks of pregnancy, various blood tests will be carried out, most importantly: Haemoglobin determination: In the case of anaemia, the blood contains too few red blood cells and/or too little red blood pigment (haemoglobin). The haemoglobin value is determined as part of the check-ups and is entered in the maternity log under ‘Hb’. The test can detect anaemia before symptoms occur. Blood group, rhesus factor and antibody screening test: If a blood transfusion is necessary as a result of an accident or operation, it is important to know the blood group. Moreover, the rhesus factor can also be vital for an unborn child: if the blood of the pregnant woman is rhesus-negative (Rh–) and the blood of the father rhesus-positive (Rh+), the child can also be rhesus-positive. When the child’s blood cells then enter the maternal bloodstream, antibodies can form in the mother’s blood against the child’s blood. However, this usually only happens during birth and is then relevant for subsequent pregnancies. Rubella HA test: If a pregnant woman has not yet contracted rubella, a rubella infection at the beginning of pregnancy can seriously harm her child. Women who have had a rubella infection as a child or who have been vaccinated against it can be assumed to be protected against rubella embryopathy, as they usually have enough antibodies in their blood. Syphilis test (LSR): A syphilis infection can affect your child’s health before and after birth. There will therefore be a test to determine infection. In the maternity log, only whether the test has been carried out is recorded, not the result. HIV test (optional): Testing for HIV (AIDS) is recommended for all pregnant women. In the maternity log, the test result is not recorded – only information that the test has been carried out will be. Chlamydia screening: A genital bacterial infection with chlamydia increases the risk of miscarriage or premature birth, so pregnant women are examined to see whether this infection is present and then treated with antibiotics if necessary.
9th to 12th week of pregnancy 19th to 22nd week of pregnancy 29th to 32nd week of pregnancy	Ultrasound examinations	Check of the development and position of the child and the placenta and assessment of the amount of amniotic fluid.
At regular intervals of about four weeks and in the last two months of pregnancy every two weeks	Medical documentation of the course of pregnancy	The following values are determined during the medical documentation of the course of pregnancy (‘gravidogram’ in the maternity log): Weight check Blood pressure check Examination of midstream urine for e.g. protein, sugar and, if necessary, bacterial infections Haemoglobin determination Check of uterus Check of baby’s heartbeat Determination of the position of the baby
Between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy	Screening for gestational diabetes	Determination of the blood sugar value after drinking a solution containing sugar.
Between the 24th and 27th week of pregnancy	Antibody screening test	The antibody screening test, which is performed at the beginning of the pregnancy, is repeated again.
From the 32nd week of pregnancy	HBs antigen detection	Hepatitis B is a form of infectious liver inflammation with which even newborns can be seriously infected. If the result is positive, the newborn should be immunised against hepatitis B immediately after birth.
In the 26th and 27th week of pregnancy with imminent premature birth, from the 28th week of pregnancy if premature labour is suspected or if changes in heartbeat are detected	CTG (cardiotocography)	The CTG is used to detect premature labour and changes in the baby’s heart.

This is how you get prenatal care:

Simply present your SBK healthcare card to your gynaecologist or midwife. We’ll take care of everything else. Once your pregnancy has been determined, your gynaecologist will give you a maternity log directly. All forthcoming examinations and results are recorded in the maternity log, so you should always carry it with you.

Please always bring your maternity log with you to all examination appointments so that the gynaecologist or midwife can find out about all previous examinations and knows which billing options to use with the health insurance company.

The regular check-ups take place every four weeks until the eighth month, then every two weeks.

Please note:

It is so important for you to feel like you’re in good hands with your gynaecologist or midwife. A change of gynaecologist or midwife is of course also possible during pregnancy.

Your employer is obligated to allow you to attend all check-ups without loss of earnings.

Medical treatment during your pregnancy

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