Antenatal Care

Antenatal Care

1. What Is Antenatal Care?

Antenatal care is the care that is given to an expectant mother from the time the conception is confirmed until the beginning of labour.

2. Why Is It Important?

It assists in screening, diagnosing and managing the risk factors that might affect the pregnant woman.

3. What Do We Look for in Antenatal Care?

1. We recommend good family support to the patient which is encouraging.
2. Nutrition rich in iron/calcium/vitamins and proteins.
3. Exercises during pregnancy will be explained.
4. Recommended rest and sleep of at-least 8 hours.
5. Immunization – It is safe for pregnant women to take the inactivated flu-vaccine, Tdap vaccine (between 27- 36 weeks), 2 doses of TT and the COVID vaccine that is available (Covaxin/Covishield).
6. Iron/Calcium supplementation
7. Periodic BP/weight measurements
8. Periodic lab test to rule out anaemia/check blood sugars, thyroid level & kidney function test.
9. Periodic USG that begins early in pregnancy to confirm if the fetus is inside the uterus or in the fallopian tubes. USG between 11-13 weeks is important to rule out any neural tube defects along with down’s screening test. Anomaly scan is done at around 20 weeks to see the detailed fetal anatomy and to see if any abnormalities are present. Growth interval USG is done at frequent intervals to see fetal well-being.

   We inform the patients about the danger signals during pregnancy so that they can report early to us if any are noticed:

10. Pain in abdomen
11. Bleeding per vaginum
12. Fever
13. Swelling in legs
14. Breathing difficulty
15. Any watery discharge per vaginum
16. Decreased or no fetal movements

Schedule of Antenatal Care:

17. Advised to have regular antenatal check-up every 4 weeks up-to 28 weeks
18. Every 2 weeks till 36 weeks
19. Every week till delivery
20. More frequent visits as needed if any complication exists

To conclude, all obstetricians advise beginning antenatal care early in pregnancy and continuing care at regular intervals to identify high-risk cases, to maintain the physical and mental health of the mother during pregnancy, to benefit the mother and the baby and to decrease the maternal and infant mortality and morbidity.

We are always there in your journey to support you and guide you throughout your pregnancy, labour and delivery to make it a memorable one for you and your family.