Can You Get Lab Work at a Birth Center?

Certified Nurse-Midwives at our birth center are trained healthcare providers that are authorized to write up and administer tests and medication.

At the birth center, we usually order tests that are age-related or indicated by the physical exam or symptoms that you describe to us.

Routine tests for Well-Women Care

Some of the tests we routinely prescribe to women during well-woman visits include:

Thyroid profile: this includes a set of three tests that determine your thyroid hormone status. This is usually done to rule out a deficiency or excess of the thyroid hormones.
Complete metabolic panel: this panel includes several tests such as cholesterol level, thyroid profile, an HbA1c test, and other tests that check how your metabolism is working.
Complete blood picture: this is one of the most basic tests we can do to determine someone’s health status. It can rule out anemia, infection, or any other acute problems.
PAP smear: this test is usually done once every 3 years for women aged 21 and above. It is done to screen for cervical cancer.
Sexually transmitted infections: if you’re sexually active and your history indicates, you may want to get tested every year to make sure you are clear.
Vaginal cultures: these are done if you have any symptoms such as discharge or itching.
Urine cultures: your midwife may recommend a urine culture test if you have burning micturition or pain while urinating. It may also be done as part of a pan-culture test that’s often done in case of unexplained fever.

Routine Tests During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, there are only certain tests that we recommend and the rest are up to you to decide what is best for your family:

Complete blood picture: this is done during your initial prenatal visits and then repeated each trimester. It checks for any anemia, ongoing infection, or platelet deficiency. Your midwife may recommend additional testing based on this test.
Blood grouping: if you don’t know your blood group or don’t have any proof of it, we recommend getting a blood grouping test done so we know what your blood group is. This helps us in case of emergencies and also lets us prevent Rh-incompatibility-related complications.
OGTT: towards the end of your second trimester, you get an OGTT test done to check for gestational diabetes.
LFTs: liver function tests are not routinely done during pregnancy. However, we may get them done if you have symptoms such as itching all over your body, epigastric pain, or indigestion. This can rule out pregnancy-related complications such as cholestasis of pregnancy or the more dangerous HELLP syndrome.
Urine culture: a urine culture is done during the 3rd trimester to test for GBS or other possible urine infections, which must be treated promptly to prevent complications.

You can have your lab work done at the birth center, or you can go to a certified lab and bring us the reports. If you want to ask any questions about the lab work we provide and recommend, send us a message!