DID I HEAR YOU SAY ANTENATAL CARE IS NOT IMPORTANT? READ THIS

ANTENATAL CARE(ANC)

This is the care a woman gets from health professionals during pregnancy to ensure the baby and the mother are as well as possible. This care is usually provided by a doctor(obstetrician) or midwife.

The goal of the ANC is to prepare for birth and parenthood as well as prevent, detect, alleviate, or manage the health problems during pregnancy that affect mothers and babies

It could be one-on-one with he doctor or in groups however, It has been found out that mothers actually prefer antenatal care in a group setting than in a one-to-one setting. Reasons are: it costs less than one-to-one visits and the women have more hours of care as a group than on their own.

Worthy of note:

An analytical review of the recent World Health Statistics showed that Antenatal care (ANC) coverage, between 2006 and 2013, was indirectly correlated with maternal mortality ratio (MMR) worldwide. This indicates that countries with low ANC coverage are the countries with very high MMR.

As at 2015 in Nigeria, over one third of pregnant women do not attend Antenatal Care (ANC) service during pregnancy. Affordability, availability and accessibility of ANC providers are the hurdles to ANC utilization in Nigeria.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2015 around 830 women died every day from problems in pregnancy and childbirth .Only 5 lived in high-income countries. The rest lived in low-income countries and most of the causes of death are preventable

When should you start ANC?

As soon as you know you are pregnant. Many women make the mistake of waiting till third trimester before their first antenatal booking.

What happens in ANC visit?

First, understand that your doctor will ask you a lot of questions, personal or not but these questions are important for the doctor or midwife to take the best care of you and your baby.. Many women don't attend ANC because of these questions but remember, it's all for your own good! Not that doctors like talking

Tests and examinations that may be done include:

💫General examination

-On the heart and lungs to ensure they are in good condition

-On the signs of Pre-eclampsia, blood pressure would be monitored closely

💫Internal examination

-Checking the size of the uterus

Ultrasound scan/Sonograph

💫Height and weight check

💫Blood tests

-Blood group

-Anaemia

-Diseases such as hepatitis B, syphilis and HIV

💫Urine tests

-Pregnancy-induced diabetes

-Urinary tract infections

Other tests may be done if and when it is necessary.

WHO antenatal recommendation

-A minimum of eight contacts are recommended to reduce perinatal mortality and improve women’s experience of care.

Counselling about healthy eating and keeping physically active during pregnancy.

-Daily oral iron and folic acid supplementation with 30 mg to 60 mg of elemental iron and 400 µg (0.4 mg) folic acid for pregnant women to prevent maternal anaemia, puerperal sepsis, low birth weight, and preterm birth.

-Tetanus toxoid vaccination is recommended for all pregnant women, depending on previous tetanus vaccination exposure, to prevent neonatal mortality from tetanus.

-One ultrasound scan before 24 weeks’ gestation (early ultrasound) is recommended for pregnant women to estimate gestational age, improve detection of fetal anomalies and multiple pregnancies, reduce induction of labour for post-term pregnancy, and improve a woman’s pregnancy experience.

-Health-care providers should ask all pregnant women about their use of alcohol and other substances (past and present) as early as possible in the pregnancy and at every antenatal visit.

Importances of Antenatal care

It helps reduce risk of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality

It also reduces birth complications by preparing the mother for labour and delivery

In mothers that are HIV positive, it helps prevent mother to child transmission

Women’s positive experiences during ANC and childbirth can create the foundations for healthy motherhood.

Quality antenatal care will encourage women to seek skilled care at childbirth thereby increasing ositive pregnancy outocmes

With good antenatal care, signs and symptoms of obstetric emergencies would be discovered early and treated if possible. If untreatable, necessary steps would be taken to ensure the safety of the mother and child

Antenatal care is a critical opportunity for health providers to deliver care, support and information to pregnant women. This includes promoting a healthy lifestyle, including good nutrition; detecting and preventing diseases; providing family planning counselling and supporting women who may be experiencing intimate partner violence.

Note that studies have shown that women who have few or inadequate or no Antenatal care have poorer pregnancy outcomes.

Finally, we hope we have been able to enlighten you on Antenatal care and all its importances. Now, let's spread the word!