Too much sugar may be an indication of gestation diabetes, a form of diabetes which is found only5 in pregnant women and usually disappears soon after birth.

Ketones in the urine, particularly a problem in early pregnancy, may indicate actual weight loss for the mother, which can be unhealthy for the fetus.

All of these test are indicators and further testing would be necessary to determine if there is a problem and how serious it is. These are conditions which can be controlled diet, exercise, and rest.

Urine tests are done in the clinic and the results are most accurate when you give a “ clean sample, “ meaning that you clean your vulva well with soap and some antiseptic and give urine from the middle of your flow, although such accuracy is usually not required each time you go in. Urinary tract infections, not uncommon for pregnant women, are detected in urine samples. These results take one to two days.

Blood Tests
Blood tests are taken several times throughout pregnancy. Your blood contains a wealth of information about you and the fetus. It can be used to confirm pregnancy and / or duration if there is reason to think that the urine test was not accurate. It is most often used to measure the amount of iron in the blood. It is normal for pregnant women to have lower iron ( in proportion to their blood volume ) than non-pregnant women, but it is important to make sure there is enough iron to support mother and fetus. Results are given immediately or within a day or so depending on which type of blood test is done and whether or not there is equipment to run the test in your practitioner’s office. Most blood test do not require informed consent, and accuracy depends on what you are checking.

HIV/AIDS testing is also a blood test. The results take about three weeks, and accuracy depends on when the test is done in relation to when you may have been exposed to the virus. If you have shared IV needles or been otherwise exposed to the AIDS virus in the last eight to twelve years, then you are at risk for HIV/AIDS. If exposure was more than six months before the test, then the results are considered very accurate. Scientists and practitioners do not yet understand how HIV is transmitted from mother to fetus. It is important to have some kind of counseling before and after the test to learn the implications of this test for you and your baby.

Glucose tolerance testing is used to test for gestational diabetes. Some doctors do this test routinely, and others do so only when there is some other indication of a possible problem either from symptoms or a urine test.

The test involves drinking a very sweet substance ( sometimes on empty stomach ) and testing your blood an hour later. If this test indicates problems, then a more accurate test is done in which you drink the sweet substance and then have blood drawn one, two, and they are considered to be accurate, particularly the three-hour test. Risks of drinking such a sweet substance are unknown. Side effects can include nausea or headache for a few hours after the test.

Weight Gain Test
Weight gain is another indication of the baby’s growth and your general health in pregnancy. You will probably be weighed at each prenatal visit. There should be consistent, even weight gain throughout the pregnancy, and you should gain 25 to 45 pounds altogether. Sudden gain or loss of weight may indicate problems which need to be investigated further.

Fundal Height
Measurement of fundal height is used to assess growth of the fetus. You will be asked to lie on your back, and the practitioner will use a tape measure or special fundal height ruler to measure the distance from the top of your uterus to your pubic bone. This is done at each prenatal visit from about 20 weeks on, with no risks but possible discomfort from having to lie on your back for those few moments.
Sometimes ultrasound scans are used to determine size and position of fetus or placenta. They can also be used to determine certain congenital anomalies.

Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is another indication of maternal and fetal well-being which will be measured at each visit. It is normal for blood adjusts to the increased volume of blood in your system, but a sharp rise in blood pressure could indicate a serious problem. Often weight gain and blood pressure problems are solved by changes in diet, exercise, and rest.

Fetal Height Tones
Fetal heart tones will be checked at each prenatal visit after the first 12 or 17 weeks, depending on what type of equipment is used. The Doppler, a handheld device which magnifies the sound of the heartbeat, uses ultrasound technology to pick up the baby’s heartbeat. Long-term effects of ultrasound exposure are not known.

It is possible to hear the heartbeat earlier in the pregnancy with a Doppler than with a fetoscope ( a stethoscope designed to measure fetal heart tones ), but the value of this is not clear. Fetal heart rate should be about twice as fast as that of an adult. A slow or irregular heartbeat many indicate that the fetus is or has been in some distress.