Prenatal appointments are some of the physician visits that pregnant women are recommended to attend. Prenatal care is an essential part of your pregnancy journey because it improves maternal and fetal outcomes. During your visit, comparative evaluations and tests are performed to monitor the progress of your fetus and prevent complications that might arise. The mother is informed of the expected changes during pregnancy and what abnormal signs require immediate care before severe complications occur. Therefore, if you are pregnant and seeking antenatal care, pregnancy Lake Mary prenatal specialists help you with normal and high-risk pregnancies. Let’s learn more about antenatal care below.
What is antenatal care?
Antenatal care is also known as prenatal care, which refers to care given to women when they are pregnant. Prenatal care begins when you know you are pregnant till delivery. It involves various activities, including counseling, screening, ultrasounds, diagnostic tests, social and emotional support, and health education. The critical component of antenatal care is fetal and maternal monitoring which entails monitoring the growth of the fetus, maternal blood pressure, fetal heart rate, and screening signs of preterm labor.
Why is prenatal care essential?
There are various reasons why most health care providers recommend prenatal visits. They include:
Help detect problems early
The key benefit of antenatal visits is to help your care provider detect problems that might cause poor fetal growth. Some factors might result in the slow growth of the baby and, if detected early, may be eliminated and lead to the birth of a healthy baby. Other fetal conditions can be detected intrauterine and give the mother a choice to be ready for the deformity that her child might be having or terminate it.
Enable you to learn about pregnancy
Prenatal visits confirm that you are pregnant, but they also help you understand what to expect during pregnancy and what scenarios require immediate care. Similarly, during these visits, you are free to ask questions concerning your pregnancy or any change you might be experiencing. Your care providers also educate you about what changes you might experience during labor, delivery, and post-delivery and what to do.
Help reduce defects and complications
People diagnosed with gestational diabetes must have regular screening to prevent fetal or maternal complications. Similarly, congenital anomalies can be screened when you are about fifteen to nineteen weeks pregnant.
Helps in immunization
Essential vaccines like tetanus toxoid are given to the mother. Similarly, some vaccines can protect the fetus and the mother from diseases. Usually, the mother’s leukocytes form the first line of defense for the baby. Therefore, taking some vaccines like the flu shot helps pass the same antibodies to your baby to help fight some infections in the uterus.
Gives nutritional education
Mothers are advised on the foods to eat to ensure their babies grow healthy. They are also given some supplements like folate and iron to ensure you have enough iron and folic acid for you and your baby. Iron supplements reduce your risk of anemia.
Antenatal care is essential during pregnancy. It helps monitor the condition of the mother and fetus for a positive outcome after delivery. Therefore, if you are pregnant and seeking prenatal care services, you can get started by consulting Dr. Christopher K Quinsey, Md, today.
