This is the step-by-step guide to getting care in your first months. For what each test and birth control option is, see Women's health care.
Most US health plans must cover a set of preventive services for women with no cost to you (no copay, no deductible) when you use a doctor in the plan's network. These include a yearly well-woman visit, cervical cancer screening, recommended breast cancer screening, and birth control counseling.
Log in to your plan's app or website. Find "find a doctor".
Filter by OB-GYN, women's health or family medicine. Filter by gender and language if you want a female doctor or one who speaks your language.
When you call, say: "I'm a new patient. I'd like to book a well-woman visit." Using these words helps the visit be billed as preventive.
If the doctor also treats a new problem in the same visit, that part may cost money. Ask at the start.
New patient visits can take weeks to get. Book soon after your coverage starts.
Title X family planning clinics offer birth control, pregnancy tests, cancer screening and STI testing. They are confidential. Fees are based on income, and people with low income often pay nothing. Search "Title X clinic locator" on opa.hhs.gov.
Community health centers also charge by income. See Care without insurance: health centers and free clinics.
Some health departments run free breast and cervical cancer screening programs. Call your county health department.
Start care early, even before your coverage is sorted out.
Marketplace and job plans cover pregnancy and birth.
Medicaid and CHIP: some states cover pregnant women who are lawfully present without the usual five-year wait. Some states also cover prenatal care regardless of immigration status. Federal rules changed in 2026, so check with your state Medicaid office. This differs by state; see In your state below.
Students: check if your school plan covers pregnancy. Some plans do not.
Ask the clinic for a financial counselor to help you apply.
See Having a baby in the US for the hospital and the baby's papers.
You have the right to a free medical interpreter at most clinics and hospitals. Ask for a female interpreter if you prefer.
You can ask for a female doctor or nurse, and for a chaperone in the room during an exam.
Bring your past results and dates of your last screenings, translated if you can.
Your visit is private. Adult patients can see the doctor alone.
Waiting for a problem before the first visit.
Booking with a doctor outside your network.
Assuming you do not qualify for pregnancy help without asking.