Antenatal Care

Importance of Antenatal Care

Care of woman and her unborn baby throughout with the im of makeing sure both healthy at delivery.Such care involves regular test on thewoman and the fetus to detect disease,defects,or portential hazards,and advising the woman on general aspects of pregnancy ,such as diet and exercies.Therefore both husband and wife gain an understanding about what is happening and what will happen. An important choice that you need to make is to decide who is going to look after you during pregnancy. The choices for care involve:


First Prenatal Visit
A pregnant woman should see her doctor as soon as she believes she is pregnant.She will be then usually be referred to an obstetrician,who will take down the medical history of the woman and her family the obstetrician then examine the woman to confirm that she is actually pregnant and to check her general health.A virginal examination is usually carried out to check that the reproductive organs and pelvis are normal and to confirm the the estimated date of delivery,which is calculated from first day of the woman's last period.

During your first prenatal visit, your health care provider will check your blood and urine for the following:

• Conditions that could harm your baby (for example, hepatitis B, syphilis and possibly other sexually transmitted infections). You will be offered a test to see if you carry HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
• Antibodies that show whether or not you are immune to rubella (German measles) and chickenpox , both of which can cause birth defects if the mother is infected for the first time during pregnancy.

• Anemia (low red blood cell count), which could cause you to feel especially tired and possibly increase your risk of preterm delivery.
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• Your blood type, including whether you carry a protein called the Rh factor ; on your red blood cells. Women who lack the Rh factor are said to be Rh negative and usually need treatment to protect their babies from a potentially dangerous blood problem.
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• Bacteria in your urine. Up to 10 percent of pregnant women have bacteria in their urine, which indicates a urinary tract infection. Most have no symptoms, but even a symptomless urinary tract infection may spread upwards to the kidneys, where it can pose a serious risk to mother and baby. Urinary tract infections are treated with antibiotics that are safe for mother and baby.
• Sugar in your urine. This can be a sign of diabetes. Your health care provider may suggest additional tests if sugar shows up in your urine.
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• Protein in your urine. This can indicate a urinary tract infection or, later in pregnancy, a pregnancy-related condition that includes high blood pressure. Your health care provider may suggest additional tests if your urine has protein in it.

The first of a series of screening tests to detect any abnormalities in the woman or baby may be carried at this visit.Some of these test such as ultrasound scanning to detect any gross abnormality,usually need to be carried out only ones;others such as blood test or urinalysis to detect anemia or diabetes mellitus in the woman,may be performed at periodic intervals throughout the pregnancy.


Subsequent visit
If there are no problems the woman visits the doctor or midwife every month until the 28th week,then every two weeks until 36th week and then the weekly until the delivery date,which on average is the 40th week from the first date of the mother's last menstrual period.If the pregnancy is high-risk such as,if the woman is over 35,or is suffering from hypertension or diabetes or if problem develop,visits will be more frequent and ,in some case, the woman may need to be admitted to hospital for closer observation.

At each visit,as well as undergoing the test the woman is weighed,her blood pressure is taken ,and the size of uterus is estimated to to confirm that the baby is growing well.

After the 32nd week ,the position of the baby in the uretus (whether it is head down as it should be) is determined, and the degree of enlargement (how far the baby's head has descended into the woman pelvis) is regularly recorded.The woman is also asked about the baby's movement;frequent,pronounced movements usually indicate that the baby is active and healthy.