Bloodwork and Other Laboratory Tests Routine blood work will
check for anemia, immunity to Rubella (German measles), blood
type, and diseases such as syphilis, hepatitis, thyroid
function, and exposure to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Routine cultures will be for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and perhaps
group B strep, although the strep culture is usually done later
around 28 weeks. You should have a Pap smear, because no
prenatal care is adequate without a recent one (less than one
year old by your due date). If you’re not rubella immune, then
you should ask for an immunization after you have your baby so
you don’t have to worry about this ever again. Life with cats,
normal or otherwise, should prompt a test for immunity to
toxoplasmosis. The CBC (Complete Blood Count) will check you for
anemia, which is important because many pregnant women get
anemic during their pregnancies. If you were anemic to begin
with, this would be handy to know so that you can be evaluated
for the weird things like Pernicious Anemia (