Early Pregnancy Care Visit
Comprehensive. Timely. Physician-Led.
Finding out you're pregnant is one of the most significant moments in a woman's life — and the first few weeks of that pregnancy are among the most medically important. Pitt County has recently seen the closure of multiple OB/GYN practices, leaving many newly pregnant women without access to timely obstetric care. The remaining practices that are still accepting patients are so overwhelmed that many are unable to schedule first appointments until the 16-week mark — well past the critical first trimester window.
At Denali East Group, Dr. Patel created the Early Pregnancy Care Visit specifically to help bridge this gap for our community. This visit is not a replacement for OB/GYN care — we strongly encourage every pregnant patient to establish care with an OB/GYN physician. This is a physician-led first-trimester evaluation designed to ensure no woman goes unmonitored while waiting for that OB appointment to become available.
What Is the Early Pregnancy Care Visit?
This is a dedicated 90-minute physician visit focused entirely on your first trimester. It is not a rushed add-on — it is a structured, medically thorough evaluation designed to do exactly what your first OB visit is meant to accomplish during the weeks you are waiting to establish OB care.
Dr. Patel will take a full obstetric and medical history, establish your estimated due date, review your medications and health background, perform an appropriate physical examination, and initiate all recommended first-trimester labs and referrals — including an ultrasound referral for pregnancy confirmation and dating.
This visit is bridge care — not a substitute for an OB/GYN. We strongly encourage every patient to establish care with an OB/GYN physician for the management of their pregnancy. Our role is to make sure you are properly evaluated, your labs are completed, and your early pregnancy is medically accounted for while that OB appointment becomes available.
Who Is This Visit For?
This visit was created for women in Pitt County and surrounding communities who are newly pregnant and facing a real gap in early obstetric access. It is ideal for:
Women who have confirmed or suspect a pregnancy and cannot get a timely OB appointment
Patients whose OB practice will not schedule them until 14–16 weeks due to overwhelming patient volume
Women affected by the recent closure of OB/GYN offices in our area who are now without an established provider
Anyone who wants to ensure their first trimester is medically supervised — not left to chance
Patients transferring care or recently relocated without an established OB
We strongly encourage all patients to simultaneously work on establishing care with an OB/GYN. This visit is here to support you in the interim — not to replace that relationship.
What's Included in the Visit
The Early Pregnancy Care Visit mirrors what you would receive at a first prenatal appointment with an OB, and includes:
Complete obstetric and medical history
Establishment of gestational age and estimated due date
Fetal heart tones by Doppler when clinically appropriate
Physical examination including vital signs and BMI
Domestic violence and psychosocial screening
Complete first-trimester lab panel ordered and coordinated
First-trimester ultrasound referral for viability and dating
Medication review and safety assessment for pregnancy
Nutritional and prenatal supplement guidance
Care coordination and documentation for your future OB
First-Trimester Lab Panel & Ultrasound
Standard Prenatal Lab Panel
Blood type, Rh factor & antibody screen
Complete blood count (CBC)
Rubella and Varicella immunity
Syphilis (RPR)
Hepatitis B surface antigen
HIV 1 & 2
Gonorrhea & Chlamydia (NAAT)
Hepatitis C antibody
Urinalysis and urine culture
TSH (thyroid function)
Ultrasound & Follow-Up
Referral for first-trimester ultrasound (8–14 weeks)
Confirms intrauterine pregnancy (rules out ectopic)
Establishes fetal viability and cardiac activity
Accurate gestational dating by crown-rump length
Identifies multiple gestations
Lab results reviewed and communicated by Dr. Patel
Abnormal results managed with physician follow-up
A complete visit summary may be requested by your future OB/GYN physician
Why Choose Dr. Patel
Dr. Patel is a board-certified physician who has personally cared for more than 52,000 patients across the full spectrum of life — from extremely premature newborns to adults over 100 years old. His clinical background spans pediatrics, adult primary care, emergency medicine, and functional medicine, and his experience includes having been present for and participating in the delivery of babies throughout his medical career.
He is uniquely qualified to evaluate the full picture of a newly pregnant woman: her current health status, her medications, her risks, and her needs — not just her gestational age. His approach is thorough, unhurried, and rooted in genuine medical judgment.
At Denali East Group, every visit is led personally by Dr. Patel. There are no handoffs, no intermediaries, and no assembly-line care. If you're pregnant and you need to be seen for your first pregnancy visit — we will see you.
Pricing & How It Works
The Early Pregnancy Care Visit is offered at $399 and is available on a self-pay basis with no membership required. This covers the full 90-minute physician visit, all counseling, ordering of labs, and coordination of your ultrasound referral. Denali East Group does not participate with any insurance plans. Upon request, we provide a detailed superbill invoice that you may submit to your insurance company for potential reimbursement — we simply stay out of the billing relationship between you and your insurer so that we may focus on longer, unhurried visits and your care.
Lab fees are billed separately by LabCorp and processed through your insurance at the time of service. Most standard prenatal lab panels are covered by commercial insurance when ordered as part of a first-trimester evaluation.
How it works: You book your visit, come in to see Dr. Patel for your comprehensive evaluation, receive your LabCorp lab orders that same day, and are referred to an imaging center for your first-trimester ultrasound — all within the same week. Results are reviewed by Dr. Patel and communicated to you. A complete visit summary may be requested by your future OB/GYN physician.