Pregnancy: medical examinations

Verified 01 September 2025 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

What are the medical obligations during pregnancy? You must make 7 medical visits to your doctor or midwife and make mandatory medical examinations. The declaration of pregnancy takes place after the 1ster review that takes place before the end of the 3e month of pregnancy. The other exams are every month from 1er day of 4e months and until delivery. These examinations are covered by the Health Insurance. We present you the rules to know.

The 1re consultation with your doctor or midwife should take place before the end of the 3e month of pregnancy.

Declaration

Once the pregnancy is confirmed, the Health Insurance must be informed before the end of the 3e month of pregnancy.

Using your Vitale card, the doctor (general practitioner or gynecologist) or midwife fills out the declaration of your pregnancy online.

He/she sends it directly to your health insurance fund and your family allowance fund (Caf) or to the agricultural social mutual (MSA).

Otherwise, you must submit the paper return.

This declaration may allow you to benefit from the birth bonus if you meet the resource requirements.

FYI  

Once the declaration of pregnancy has been made, a mandatory early prenatal care is performed by a doctor or midwife.

The purpose of this interview is to allow the health professional to assess, with you, your possible needs in terms of support during your pregnancy.

Prescriptions for medical examinations

During this 1re consultation, the doctor or midwife performs a complete clinical examination and prescribes the following examinations:

  • Determination of blood group and rhesus (in case of 1re pregnancy)
  • Look for certain diseases (rubella, hepatitis B, toxoplasmosissyphilis, etc.)
  • 1re ultrasound dating allowing to precisely date the beginning of pregnancy by measuring the embryo and to determine the number of embryos
  • Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Screening
  • Cervico-uterine smear, if you are not up to date.

The 2e consultation must take place at 4e month of pregnancy.

An ultrasound is done to:

  • Check for malformations
  • Specify the size of the baby.

FYI  

You can benefit, from 4e month of pregnancy, of a oral prevention examination.

The 3e consultation must take place at 5e month of pregnancy.

A blood test is requested to count:

  • Red blood cells looking for iron deficiency anemia
  • White blood cells
  • The platelets.

The 4e consultation must take place at 6e month of pregnancy.

A blood test is requested to count:

The following examinationsSymptoms and diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia shall be carried out:

  • HBs Antigen Screening
  • Blood count
  • Checking for irregular antibodies, if you have a negative rhesus or if you have been transfused.

The 5e consultation must take place at 7e month of pregnancy.

A precise ultrasound:

  • The location of the placenta
  • The position of your baby in the uterus.

Ultrasound checks the baby's development.

The 6e consultation must take place at 8e month of pregnancy.

You must undergo a pre-anesthetic consultation. This review is mandatory, even if you want to give birth without epidural.

One 2e blood group determination is done during this or the next examination.

If you have a negative rhesus or have been transfused, the irregular antibody test is repeated.

The 7e and last consultation must take place at 9e month of pregnancy.

One 2e blood group determination is done, if not done at 6e examination.

If you have a negative rhesus or have been transfused, the irregular antibody test is repeated.

Neonatal screening

Neonatal screening (48 hours) diseases in children and also aims to screening for deafness permanent.

Please note

To date, 16 diseases are being screened for in the newborn screening program.

The diseases sought are rare, but they can be serious if not managed as early as 1ers days of life of the child.

Example :

Screening for phenylketonuria at birth, through a specific diet and follow-up, helps prevent the onset of disability.

This neonatal screening is open free of charge for all newborns.

After information on this screening, the parents' consent is requested before taking a few drops of blood from the newborn's foot or hand.

FYI  

Medical biology tests for the newborn screening program are done on a blood sample taken 48 hours after birth. Otherwise, the blood sample is taken between 48 hours and 72 hours after birth and, if not possible, beyond 72 hours after birth.

The results are communicated to the parents only in case of problem.

Postnatal Interview

One postnatal interview early mandatory is performed by a doctor or midwife between the 4e and 8e weeks after delivery.

The objectives of this interview are:

  • Identify early signs of postpartum depression or risk factors for it
  • Assess the possible needs of the woman or spouse in terms of support.

A second interview may be proposed, between the 10e and 14e weeks following childbirth, to women who are in any of the following situations:

  • Women who gave birth for the 1re times
  • Women who have been found to have signs of postpartum depression or risk factors for it.

Postnatal examination

One postnatal examination must be carried out in the 8 weeks after delivery.

Screening for cytomegalovirus in pregnant women

The Social Security Financing Act for 2024 gives the State the possibility to set up a program for screening pregnant women for cytomegalovirus after consulting the High Health Authority. Upon publication of this notice, this page will be updated.

Until then, the information on this page remains valid.