What to expect when you are expecting in Sweden.

Disclaimer: This pregnancy did result in a miscarriage during week 19. I have previously shared that experience and you can read about it here. Despite my pregnancy loss, I still want to share what the first 14 of those 19 weeks looked like as my main goal with Sweden and Me is to inform. I have not edited this post since my miscarriage.

Surprise! I am going to have a baby! My partner and I are so excited, but we were also nervous to navigate being first time expectant parents while in a foreign country. So I’ve decided to break down my entire experience, trimester by trimester, and demystify what it looks like to be expecting in Sweden.

Weeks 0-6

My partner and I learned we were pregnant on a Sunday in September and took the day to soak in the news. On the following Monday, I called my local vårdcentral (care center) and told them I was pregnant for the first time. We made an appointment for just over two weeks later. On the phone, they asked my for the date of my last period, when I took the pregnancy test, and my person number (aka my social security number). I asked if my partner could come to the appointment too (he could!) and if I needed to bring anything (only an ID).

After the call, it was just a bit of a waiting game for the 16 days before my appointment. In my excitement, I was eager to get the process started, but understood that there also wasn’t too much for the midwife to see/do/check at this point. I spent my time researching what to eat and avoid, downloaded some pregnancy tracking apps, reveled in my new secret, and found creative ways to answer the question, “So, what is new with you?”

I also started a daily pregnancy journal the day I found out I was pregnant. It was a great way to process my emotions, track my symptoms, record questions for my midwife, and definitely helped in the writing of this blog!

A few days before my first appointment, I was sent a pregnancy health questionnaire (Frågor inför ditt första besök som gravid). This a long list of questions centered around my health habits before pregnancy (eating, drinking, smoking, drug use), some dates and data about myself (date of last period, date of positive pregnancy test, my weight), and my family’s health history (diabetes, hypertension, thyroid disorders, etc.).

Week 7

On a Tuesday of this week, I had my first midwife appointment. Nick and I met Josefin, who would be our midwife for my entire pregnancy (unless I formally requested to change). Luckily, we both instantly liked her warm and caring nature. She was incredibly attentive, curious, and knowledgeable during the this first appointment, which lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes.

She started by asking about our relationship, life in Sweden, support system here and abroad, work situations, and conception. Then we went through the dates of my last period and, based on my midwife’s pregnancy calculator, learned that I was not in week 6 as my app had said, but instead in week 7 and my expected due date was moved up six days.

Honestly, this was a bit of a shock as I had only tested positive two weeks before. After doing some more research, I learned that the way pregnancy is calculated in Sweden (and many other countries) is to start from the first day of your last period. While I obviously was not pregnant on the first day I started my period in August, the medical system see this as reliable data to start the count down from, as it is much easier to tell exactly when you are menstruating as compared to ovulating/conceiving.

You can read a week-by-week description of the pregnancy process on 1177.se, but here is the information they provide for week 1, which really should be called “week -2”:

In week 1, no pregnancy has actually started yet. It can be difficult to know when a pregnancy has begun. It is not always possible to know exactly when conception took place. Therefore, the beginning of pregnancy is counted from the first day of the last period. It is about two weeks before conception. Then a pregnancy lasts on average for 40 weeks or 280 days.

The rest of the appointment centered around what my future appointments might look like. Josefin had a wheel that showed the calendar day and the corresponding pregnancy week, and she shared which types of appointments would be when.

Interestingly, I was never asked to take a pregnancy test at the care center. I think this goes back to Sweden’s generally high trust in their people and society. My home pregnancy test said I was pregnant, so I must be. And if that changed, we would find out soon enough in other ways, I suppose. Whatever the reason, I didn’t need to confirm my pregnancy with my midwife.

Overall, Josefin highlighted that it is best to keep stress low (including being too stressed about doing everything “right”) and just enjoy this unique time in my life!

Week 8-10

After my appointment, I received a few resources from my midwife, including when I should have vaccinations (after week 12). Otherwise, it was very quiet from her and the medical system in Sweden.

Week 11

I had my first ultrasound and it was such am amazing experience to see the baby (shaped like a little bean and only 2.7cm long) for the first time. We could also clearly see the heartbeat. Our baby was very active – dancing and bouncing around in my womb – and it was hard for the midwife to get an accurate measurement of the baby’s length. But based on what she could see, the baby was measuring in a 9 weeks + 2 or 3 days of development. So I was moved from week 11 to week 9, which felt more accurate compared to when we had actually conceived.

I also gave a blood sample during this appointment, and a midwife will go over the results with me in my week 12 appointment.

Week 12 Week 10

As I was originally projected to be in week 12 this week, I had a previously scheduled KUB test, which my midwife told me to keep.

The KUB test is a diagnostic test that uses the mother’s age, her blood work, and an ultrasound looking specifically at the fluid at the back of the baby’s neck to predict some chromosomal disorders (like Down’s Syndrome) with 91% accuracy. If a heightened risk is found, further tests are ordered, such as the NIPT test and testing the amniotic fluid. Ultimately, this diagnostic test is scheduled early enough to allow the parents time to make any decisions they see fit. It is strongly recommended that you do not attend the KUB test alone, but bring a support partner with you.

At my first KUB appointment, the midwife at my local hospital explained to me what the KUB test is and then we had the ultrasound to see if I was far enough in my pregnancy to perform the test. The midwife measured my baby at 10 week + 6 days, so we were shy of the 12 week mark. Ultimately, we were happy to see that the measurement the week prior was accurate and the midwife assured us that our baby was developing normally. Again we could see a hearty heartbeat.

We were told we would receive a new appointment for the KUB test in week 12.

Week 12

KUB round two and this time our baby did measure in at 12 weeks in week 12. But the baby was curled up and cozy and facing the wrong direction. During the KUB test, the doctor needs to be able to measure the fluid in the baby’s neck and the full length of the spine. Our baby wasn’t in the right position for the doctor to get a reliable measurement.

The doctor did all she could with us to get the baby to shift position: I drank water to fill my bladder, I emptied my bladder, I danced, I jumped, I did crunches, I went for a 45 minute walk with my partner, I had a coffee. Well, our little baby was stubbornly cozy and didn’t move from her/his position the entire two-hour appointment, aside from some reflexes and kicks.

Ultimately, the doctors said that everything looks fine, but without the neck and spine measurement, she can’t rule out with certainty developmental disorders like Down’s Syndrome and Trisomy 13. The doctor referred me to have the NIPT (non-invasive prenatal testing), which is a blood test where they screen chromosomes 13, 18, and 21 in my region (in other regions it can include more, including 23, the sex chromosomes).

Week 13

I gave my blood at the hospital on a Monday and was told I would get my results in 2-3 weeks (it took three). I was also booked in for another ultrasound in week 15, but we will go into that in the second trimester blog.

But I don’t want to leave you on a cliff hanger, so I will say here that the results came back normal with zero pathologies detected.

• Gravid means “pregnant”.
• Barnmorskemottagning means “midwife reception” and this is where all of your appointments will take place, unless you are referred elsewhere, like I was for ultrasounds at the hospital.
• Ultrasound is ultraljud in Swedish.
• The KUB test is known as Nuchal Translucency (NT) screening in some other countries.

• I’ve been using the Basal Body Temperature (BBT) and cycle tracking methods for two years leading up to conceiving. I specifically use Natural Cycles, a Swedish product that is also FDA approved in the US.
• Want to know about vaccinations during pregnancy? Read here.
• Always show up to your ultrasound appointments with a full bladder in the first trimester. It pushes the uterus closer to the surface and can help with the ultrasound.
• Interested to know about abortion in Sweden? Read my post here.
• I have a full post on my miscarriage and how the Swedish system responded to it here.

• Basal body temperature for natural family planning
• 1177.se Pregnancy page
• 1 week pregnant