Pregnancy Care and Prenatal Care

Pregnancy care is very important for the health of both the mother and the baby. The right care and precautions help to significantly enhance the entire pregnancy experience and ensure a positive outcome for the baby and mother. Proper prenatal and pregnancy care includes steps towards proper health and nutritional habits prior to and during the pregnancy. The pregnant mother must also undergo prenatal examinations at regular intervals. Any possible problems that the baby may be experiencing are also kept in check with the help of routine ultrasound tests. Screening is also done to detect problems of blood pressure, problems of blood type, genetic conditions, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, rubella immunity, and urine protein.

Prenatal care is aimed at monitoring the mother and baby all through the course of the pregnancy, to detect changes that may be indicative of a high-risk pregnancy, to ensure that nutritional requirements are met during the pregnancy, to provide information about certain restrictions that need to be taken, to provide information about activity that is recommended during pregnancy and to take care of common problems that occur during pregnancy such as morning sickness, backache, constipation, and heartburn without resorting to medication. Prenatal examinations are usually scheduled after every four weeks during the initial 32 weeks of pregnancy. These examinations would then be required after every two weeks between week 32 and week 36 of pregnancy and then weekly after 36 weeks. It is important to call the doctor immediately if the pregnant woman has been exposed to chemicals or radiation, if she suddenly develops chills, fever, vaginal bleeding and abdominal pain or if the water breaks.

If the pregnant mother is already under treatment for conditions such as asthma, hypertension, allergies or diabetes, this needs to be discussed with the doctor. In some cases, the medication may need to be altered or discontinued. Habits that may put the baby at risk such as smoking or alcohol consumption must also be discussed. Women who go in for planned pregnancies usually need to start taking vitamins containing folic acid much earlier to prevent neural tube defects which tend to occur in the initial days of pregnancy. Pregnant mothers are usually cared for by health care providers which include doctors who are specialized in obstetrics and gynecology, certified nurse-midwives or family practitioners. A midwife would be fine if the delivery is normal but a doctor would be necessary in the case of a C-section.