🗓️ The journey

Every step from your first week to your due date — clinical checkpoints, baby's growth, and the moments in between. Timings follow Australian guidance; your care team's plan comes first.

💲 Cost notes are rough guides for the public / Medicare pathway (2025–26). Actual fees vary by clinic, state, and whether you go private — always ask for the out-of-pocket cost when you book.

1. First trimester

   Weeks 0–13 · the hidden, busy beginning

2. Last period

   Pregnancy is dated from the first day of your last period — the week-0 starting line.

3. Conception

   Around ovulation. Baby's age is still counted from your last period, so you're '2 weeks'.

4. A positive test

   hCG is finally high enough to show up. If you haven't started folic acid, now's the time.

   ≈ a poppy seed

5. Heartbeat begins

   A tiny heart starts to flicker — sometimes visible on an early scan.

   ≈ a lentil

6. 🩺 First antenatal visit By 10 weeks

   History, height & weight (pre-pregnancy BMI), blood pressure, and first bloods (blood group & antibodies, FBE, infectious-disease screen). Confirms your due date. A schedule of ~10 visits is standard for an uncomplicated first pregnancy.

   ≈ a raspberry

   💲 Public / midwife care is free with Medicare; a private GP may charge a ~$40–50 gap. First bloods are usually bulk-billed.

7. 🧪 Combined first-trimester screening (CFTS) 9–13 weeks

   Blood test + nuchal translucency scan giving a chance estimate for Down syndrome and other conditions.

   ≈ a cherry

   💲 Blood test is Medicare-rebated; the NT scan is often bulk-billed but some clinics charge a ~$50–150 gap.

   Optional
8. 🧪 NIPT (non-invasive prenatal test) From 10 weeks

   A more accurate screening blood test (cell-free fetal DNA). Not covered by Medicare — an out-of-pocket cost.

   ≈ a strawberry

   💲 Not on Medicare — roughly $400–550 out of pocket (basic panels can be ~$350, extended ones more).

   Optional
9. 🖥️ Nuchal translucency scan 11–14 weeks

   Measures the back of baby's neck as part of first-trimester screening. Often combined with the CFTS blood test. A dating scan before 12 weeks is only needed if the due date is uncertain.

   ≈ a fig

   💲 Medicare rebate applies; often bulk-billed, but some imaging clinics charge a ~$50–150 gap.

   Optional
10. End of the first trimester

    Miscarriage risk drops sharply. Many people share their news around now.

    ≈ a lime

11. Second trimester

    Weeks 14–27 · the comfortable middle

12. First flutters

    Many people first feel their baby move ('quickening') somewhere between 18 and 22 weeks.

    ≈ a bell pepper

13. 🖥️ Morphology (anatomy) scan 18–22 weeks

    Detailed ultrasound of baby's anatomy, growth and the placenta's position. RANZCOG places this around 20 weeks; all women are offered a scan before 20 weeks.

    ≈ a bell pepper

    💲 Medicare rebate applies. Many practices bulk-bill it ($0); others charge a ~$150–250 gap — ask when you book.

14. Halfway there

    The midpoint of a 40-week pregnancy.

    ≈ a banana

15. 💉 Whooping cough (dTpa) vaccine 20–32 weeks

    One dose every pregnancy to protect the newborn. Best given soon after 20 weeks; protection is lower if given within 2 weeks of birth.

    ≈ a banana

    💲 Free for pregnant women under the National Immunisation Program.

16. Viability

    From about here, a baby is considered able to survive with intensive hospital care.

    ≈ an ear of corn

17. 🧪 Glucose tolerance test (OGTT) 24–28 weeks

    Screens for gestational diabetes. A fasting test with a sugary drink and timed blood draws.

    ≈ an ear of corn

    💲 Medicare-covered — usually bulk-billed ($0).

18. Third trimester

    Weeks 28–birth · the home stretch

19. Movements settle into a pattern

    The final stretch. You'll get to know your baby's normal — worth watching for changes.

    ≈ an eggplant

20. 🧪 Repeat bloods (FBE + antibodies) Around 28 weeks

    Haemoglobin and platelets repeated to check for anaemia. Antibody screen repeated if you are Rh-negative.

    ≈ an eggplant

    💲 Medicare-covered — usually bulk-billed ($0).

21. 🧪 Anti-D injection (if Rh-negative) Around 28 weeks

    Anti-D immunoglobulin for Rh-negative women, with a second dose usually around 34 weeks.

    ≈ an eggplant

    💲 Provided at no cost through the public system (only needed if you're Rh-negative).

    Optional
22. 💉 RSV vaccine (Abrysvo) 28–36 weeks

    One dose from 28 weeks to protect baby from RSV. Not recommended before 28 weeks. Permitted beyond 36 weeks but less protective near birth.

    ≈ an eggplant

    💲 Free under the National Immunisation Program (funded for pregnancy from 2025) — confirm your provider stocks it.

23. Baby can open their eyes

    Sleep and wake cycles are forming; you may notice quieter and busier times.

    ≈ a coconut

24. 🧪 Group B strep (GBS) swab 35–37 weeks

    A vaginal-rectal swab (you may be able to self-collect). Some services test routinely, others use a risk-based approach.

    ≈ a honeydew melon

    💲 Medicare-covered — usually bulk-billed ($0).

    Optional
25. 🩺 Presentation & position check 35–37 weeks

    Checks which way up baby is and how low they've settled as birth approaches.

    ≈ a honeydew melon

    💲 Part of your routine antenatal visit ($0 in the public / midwife pathway).

26. No longer premature

    From 37 weeks your baby is 'early term' — birth from here is not considered premature.

    ≈ a bunch of silverbeet

27. Full term

    Baby is fully cooked. Birth could happen any day now.

    ≈ a small watermelon

28. Due date

    Your estimated date — only about 1 in 20 babies actually arrive on it.

    ≈ a pumpkin

A reference only — not medical advice. Sources: RANZCOG, the Australian Pregnancy Care Guidelines, Healthdirect and the Immunisation Handbook.