First Trimester Checklist: Care, Medicines, and Daily Planning

The first trimester can bring a surprising amount of administration alongside an equally surprising need to rest. A checklist should make life simpler. Use this one as a place to collect the next few steps, and adapt it to the care available where you live.

Arrange care and save the contact details

Contact your local pregnancy service early. In England, guidance recommends the first booking appointment by 10 weeks. If you have not received an appointment after registering, follow up with the service.

Keep the registration confirmation and the service’s contact number together. Add one reminder to check for an appointment message. Our guide to the first steps after a positive test can help if you are just beginning.

Make a medicines and supplements list

Record everything you take, including dose and frequency. Photograph packaging if that is easier. If you take regular prescribed medicines, contact your doctor as soon as you know you are pregnant for a review. Do not wait for your routine booking appointment or stop treatment yourself. Check with a doctor, midwife or pharmacist before starting a new medicine.

UK guidance recommends 400 micrograms of folic acid daily through the first 12 weeks, starting as soon as you know you are pregnant if you were not taking it beforehand. Some people need a higher prescribed dose because of their medical history or medicines. Ask your clinician whether this applies to you. Ask about vitamin D too, since advice depends on your circumstances and local guidance.

Avoid buying several overlapping supplements before checking their ingredients. A pharmacist can help you compare labels and avoid products containing vitamin A as retinol.

Prepare for appointments without overpreparing

Keep a short list of questions as they occur to you. Mark the two or three you most want answered. If something is urgent, contact your care team rather than saving it for a routine visit.

Ask which appointments and screening decisions are coming next. Put confirmed dates in your calendar, together with travel time and any preparation instructions. The first prenatal appointment guide includes a practical list of information to bring.

Review everyday habits one at a time

Avoid alcohol during pregnancy and ask for support if stopping smoking is difficult. For food choices, use our guide to eating during pregnancy as a starting point for questions, especially if you follow a restricted diet.

Keep the practical plan modest. You might arrange easier breakfasts, ask someone else to handle cooking smells, or move a nonessential commitment. If symptoms make eating, drinking, or daily life difficult, ask your clinician for help.

Decide what help would be useful

Write a small list of tasks another person could take on: collecting a prescription, arranging transport, or dealing with a household errand. A specific request can be easier to answer than “I need more support.”

You can plan privately before making a wider announcement. Leave shopping lists and social plans for a day when they feel useful. The checklist has done its job when you know the next practical step and who to contact with a concern.