Trimester: First Trimester

Learn more about having a healthy pregnancy from 0 to 13 weeks.

Prenatal Legal Checkup & Videos

The People’s Community Clinic Medical-Legal Partnership created a legal checkup to help pregnant people in Texas. Watch the videos to help understand common legal needs while pregnant.

What is a legal checkup?

A legal checkup is a tool that can be used by people during all stages of life to figure out:

  • What legal needs they may have
  • What legal issues they can prevent

What is a prenatal legal checkup?

The Medical-Legal Partnership’s prenatal legal checkup is designed to start conversations about health-harming legal needs during pregnancy. Each video covers a different issue, including health insurance, food security, domestic violence, employment, housing, healthcare decisions, parental rights, and breastfeeding. The goal is to help expecting parents to take their health into their own hands.

Why is a prenatal legal checkup important?

  • Every year, 1.7 million people in the U.S. get sick or die simply from getting pregnant.
  • Many illnesses and deaths are due to where we live, grow, work, play, worship, and age. These are called “social determinants of health,” and they matter a lot in staying healthy.
  • Social determinants of health are shaped by legal requirements and restrictions. Having a lawyer can help you know your rights and live a healthier a life.

What if I think I may need legal help after watching the prenatal legal checkup videos?

Find help at TexasLawHelp’s legal help directory.

A note for providers about our prenatal legal checkup video series:

When we added a popular model of group prenatal care, we realized a lot of questions were asked that our traditional healthcare team did not have the structural expertise to fully answer. So we added a medical-legal partnership (MLP) lawyer to our facilitating care team. Like our other MLP attorneys, the prenatal care lawyer is embedded onsite to help address health-harming legal needs. Our MLP model also includes integrating the legal team’s structural expertise into every part of the delivery of healthcare, and so the prenatal care lawyer helped our clinicians and educators plan a curriculum for whole-person care throughout pregnancy. Our MLP lawyers also attend group medical visits, giving patients real-time access to integrated legal expertise. Patients reported reduced stress and increased legal literacy, and our providers reported improved self-efficacy in providing whole-person care. To help assure sustainability, we turned our live sessions into this video series, and we created this website to share our work with you.

Health Insurance

Watch this video to learn more about how to cover the cost of prenatal healthcare. Related topics include:

Public benefits and food security

Watch this video to learn more about what benefits may be available to help your family get nutritious food. Such benefits may include:

Employment

  • Watch this video to learn more about what rights pregnant persons have in the workplace. Learn more at Pregnancy and the workplace.

Domestic violence

Watch this video about Protective Orders to learn more about how to stay safe from domestic violence.

Housing

Watch this video to learn more about housing rights. Related material on TexasLawHelp.org includes:

Medical decision-making

  • Watch this video about medical Decision-making to learn more about how you can control or share your right to make medical decisions during pregnancy, especially if you face a serious pregnancy complication.

Parental Rights: Part One

Watch this video to learn more about parental rights, such as visitation and who gets to make decisions about the child. Topics include:

Parental Rights: Part Two

Watch this video to learn more about parental rights, such as safe visits when one parent has been abusive or is a danger to the child.

Breastfeeding

Early childhood issues

Watch this video to learn about government benefits that can help you get your child extra help in the community and at school, such as SSI. Related topics include:

Guide to Helpful Programs & Services

  • Medicaid

    Medicaid offers health care coverage for children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, people 65 and older, and some adults caring for children. It helps with bills for doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, and drugs ordered by a doctor (prescriptions). Children who get Medicaid will also be in the Texas Health Steps program.

  • Texas Health Steps

    Texas Health Steps is a health-care program for children, teens, and young adults ages 20 and younger who have Medicaid. It offers medical and dental checkups and many other health-care services.

Medicaid Monthly Income Eligibility

Call 2-1-1 or go to www.211texas.org for information about:

  • Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

    CHIP is for children ages 18 and younger. It is an Insurance program for families who earn too much money to get Medicaid, but cannot pay for private insurance.

  • CHIP Perinatal Coverage

    The CHIP perinatal coverage offers prenatal care to pregnant women who cannot get Medicaid and do not have other health coverage. Benefits may include up to 20 prenatal visits; drugs ordered by a doctor; costs of giving birth; 2 doctor visits for the mom after the baby is born; and regular checkups, vaccines and drugs ordered by a doctor for the baby.

  • Newborn Screening

    All babies born in Texas must be screened for 29 medical disorders. Two tests are done using drops of blood from the baby’s heel. Tests are done 1 to 2 days after birth and again at 7 to 14 days after birth. Early detection and treatment can prevent serious health problems.

  • Child Support Enforcement Services

    The Office of the Attorney General helps families establish a child’s legal father, set child support, collect child support payments, find absent parents, and offers services to help parents work together to meet their children’s physical and emotional needs.

  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps

    SNAP helps families buy food. SNAP benefits are given through the Lone Star Card. This is a plastic card that is used like a debit card.

  • Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)

    ECI helps children birth to 3 years of age with disabilities and delays in growth or learning. ECI services help children reach their full potential.

  • Family Planning Services

    Most family planning clinics offer pregnancy testing and counseling, birth control methods and counseling, tests for breast and cervical cancers and HIV testing and counseling. Ask your provider if confidential visits are available.

  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

    TANF helps families with children ages 18 and younger pay for things like food, clothing, and housing. TANF benefits are given through the Lone Star Card. This is a plastic card that is used like a debit card.

  • Head Start and Early Head Start

    These programs promote healthy development in preschool children from birth to age 5. Priorities include education, family literacy, health, and childcare.

Other Programs & Services

  • Texas Workforce Commission
  • Education
  • Postpartum Depression
  • Mental Health
  • Housing
  • Child Abuse Reporting
  • HIV and STD
  • Rent Payment Assistance
  • Utility Assistance
  • Women’s Health

Dental Resources List

  • CommUnity Care Dental Clinics: MAP Dental Clinics

  • CommuniCare Health Centers (Dental)

    Hours: M-F 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM

    2810 Dacy Lane Kyle, TX 7864031

    • Accepted Payers: Self-pay (sliding fees) service done at a reduced fee
    • Provides: routine dental care, extractions, cleanings, root canals, crowns, bridges dentures and partials

  • St. David's Foundation

    Qualifications:
    Must be part of the following school districts:
    Austin, Manor, Del Valle, Pflugerville, Round Rock & Hays

    • Mobile Dental Vans
    • Can ask for school nurse to assist with appointment
    • Only sees children 5 years old and up
    • No fee

  • Lone Star Circle of Care

    Hours: 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM

    Georgetown (adults and all children) Round Rock (children and adolescent) Bastrop (adults and children)105

    Call the number above to make an appointment

    Cost based on income, fee for service $75-$250

    Provides: routine care, fillings, extractions, stainless steel crowns (no gold or porcelain) and partial dentures.

  • HIV/AIDS: Jack Sansing Dental Clinic

    M-Th: 8 - 5PM, F: 8-12PM

    711 W St Suite EA Austin, TX 7870536

    Sliding scale/services done at a reduced fee
    Only for people living with HIV or AIDS

  • Manos De Cristo

    Hours: M-F: 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Takes walk-in for emergencies M-F: 7:30-12

    4911 Harmon Avenue Austin, TX 7875137

    Children 8 and over, adults, and seniors

    • Accepted Payers: Self-pay (sliding fees) service done at a reduced fee
    • Provides: routine dental care, extractions, cleanings, root canals, crowns, bridges, dentures and partials

  • Austin Community College (ACC) Dental Hygiene Program

    Hours: M-F: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

    3401 Webberville Road, Room 8162 Austin, TX 7870251

    • Exam, x-rays and cleanings only, each appointment can take up to 3 hours
    • $49-$99 for cleanings

  • Denture Centers

  • UT Dental School — San Antonio

    Hours: M-F by appointment only

    • Dental Screening $39
    • Emergency appointment $40
    • Low cost dental treatment

Danger Signs

These are pregnancy danger signs to
watch out for:

  • Bleeding from the vagina
  • Severe pain or cramping in the lower stomach
  • Chest pain
  • Headache that is severe or will not go away
  • Changes in vision (blurring or seeing spots)
  • More than normal swelling of the feet or ankles
  • Puffiness in the hands or face
  • Fever
  • Burning when you pee
  • Pressure in the pelvis and low dull backache

Call the your provider immediately.

In case of an emergency, call 911 or go directly to St. David’s Emergency Room.

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Zika Awareness

CDC’s Response to Zika

What we know about Zika

  • Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus.
  • Zika infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects.
  • Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected mosquito. Zika-carrying mosquitos are aggressive daytime biters. They can also bite at night.
  • There has been no local transmission of Zika in the continental US.
  • There is no vaccine to prevent and no medicine to treat Zika.
  • Zika can be spread by a man to his sex partners.

CDC Zika Awareness Brochure

More about Zika

What we don’t know about Zika

  • We don’t know if there is a safe time during your pregnancy to travel to an area with Zika.
  • If you do travel and are infected, we don’t know how likely it is that the virus will infect your fetus and if your baby will have birth defects.

 

Symptoms of Zika

  • Many people with Zika won’t know that they have it. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week.
  • The most common symptoms of Zika are:
    • Fever
    • Rash
    • Joint Pain
    • Conjunctivitis (red eyes)

 

Special precautions for pregnant women

  • Delay travel to areas with Zika.
  • Pregnant women and their male partners should strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.
  • If you have a male sex partner who lives in or travels to an area with Zika, you should use condoms the right way every time you have sex, or do not have sex during the pregnancy.
  • If you develop the symptoms of Zika, see a healthcare provider right away for testing.

 

Special precautions for women trying to become pregnant

  • Women trying to become pregnant and their male partners should strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.
  • Talk to your healthcare provider about plans to become pregnant.

 

Your Best Protection: Prevent Mosquito Bites

  • Wear clothing that protects your skin. You can also treat clothing with permethrin or purchase permethrin-treated clothing. Do NOT use permethrin products directly on skin.
  • When indoors, stay in places with air conditioning or that use window and door screens to keep mosquitoes outside. Sleep under a mosquito bed net if air conditioned or screened rooms are not available or if sleeping outdoors.
  • Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents. When used as directed, these insect repellents are safe and effective for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
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Your Guide To Pregnancy

What to expect and how to make it memorable

We are here to help keep you and your baby healthy and happy from conception to birth and then for years after. This guide will discuss common pregnancy concerns and ways that you can stay healthy.

View Guide