Once the initial excitement has calmed down and the reality hits, planning for the future suddenly becomes very important. Areas such as health, exercise, eating, rest are all things the mother-to-be has to think about, more often than not fathers too should be thinking about these areas as well.

The physical changes to a woman's body are naturally visible over time. The question is how a father-to-be can help his wife or girlfriend and more importantly, prepare himself too for the journey just ahead.

One area some expectant fathers can often miss is looking after the expectant mother. The changes both external and internal women go through are often immense. The pressure is not just physical but sometimes psychological too, so men should try their best to help out around the house, do the shopping, make sure the day-to-day things that some men take for granted, well, they now need dad to step up to the plate.

Nine months is a not that long, but when expectant parents first start out, the actual child birth can take a while to come around so breaking up the pregnancy into three stages may be an easier way of visualising how best to prepare.

The first three months, the woman is normally beginning to notice bodily changes, after consulting a medical doctor it is usual that a scan and health check are done and this is when fathers tend to find out the initial information about the baby. The first few weeks of a pregnancy can be susceptible to miscarriage, so fathers may be able to help their wives or girlfriends by being there for them more regularly.

 Around week 8 both parents have their first ante-natal appointment with a Doctor or Midwife. These may involve a midwife going over both parents medical histories and going through any questions or queries they may have.

Antenatal classes may at first be a little strange for first time fathers, but bear in mind it may well be strange for the mother too! Typically these involve group classes, so other expectant fathers are likely to be their with their wives.

Around week 12 the first ultra sound scan may take place. This is done to check the baby is growing normally and both it and the mother are in good health. It is sometimes quite an experience to see the first pictures of an unborn baby in the womb. Parents can ask for a print out of the image although should note that there may be charges for it.

The scan itself normally involves the mother having some cold gel smeared over her stomach so that a scanning device known as a 'transducer' can roll smoothly over the skin. It is a harmless and safe procedure that only takes a few minutes.

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