Antenatal care involves comprehensive health supervision and guidance for pregnant women from conception through delivery. Its goals are to reduce mortality and morbidity for both mother and baby, and improve their physical and mental health. Key aspects of antenatal care include regular checkups to monitor health, detect complications early, provide health education, conduct screening tests, and supplement nutrition as needed. Checkups typically increase in frequency throughout pregnancy. Care involves collecting a medical history, conducting physical exams, and ordering relevant investigations and tests. Common discomforts of pregnancy are discussed as well as relief measures.
Antenatal care involves comprehensive health supervision and guidance for pregnant women from conception through delivery. Its goals are to reduce mortality and morbidity for both mother and baby, and improve their physical and mental health. Key aspects of antenatal care include regular checkups to monitor health, detect complications early, provide health education, conduct screening tests, and supplement nutrition as needed. Checkups typically increase in frequency throughout pregnancy. Care involves collecting a medical history, conducting physical exams, and ordering relevant investigations and tests. Common discomforts of pregnancy are discussed as well as relief measures.
Antenatal care involves comprehensive health supervision and guidance for pregnant women from conception through delivery. Its goals are to reduce mortality and morbidity for both mother and baby, and improve their physical and mental health. Key aspects of antenatal care include regular checkups to monitor health, detect complications early, provide health education, conduct screening tests, and supplement nutrition as needed. Checkups typically increase in frequency throughout pregnancy. Care involves collecting a medical history, conducting physical exams, and ordering relevant investigations and tests. Common discomforts of pregnancy are discussed as well as relief measures.
Antenatal care involves comprehensive health supervision and guidance for pregnant women from conception through delivery. Its goals are to reduce mortality and morbidity for both mother and baby, and improve their physical and mental health. Key aspects of antenatal care include regular checkups to monitor health, detect complications early, provide health education, conduct screening tests, and supplement nutrition as needed. Checkups typically increase in frequency throughout pregnancy. Care involves collecting a medical history, conducting physical exams, and ordering relevant investigations and tests. Common discomforts of pregnancy are discussed as well as relief measures.
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Antenatal Care
Definition of Antenatal care
comprehensive health supervision of a pregnant woman before delivery Or it is planned examination, observation and guidance given to the pregnant woman from conception till the time of labor.
Goals To reduce
maternal and perinatal
mortality and morbidity rates
To improve
the physical and mental
health of women and children
Importance of Antenatal Care
To ensure
that the pregnant woman and her
fetus are in the best possible health.
To detect
early and treat properly
complications
Offering education for parenthood
To prepare
the woman for labor, lactation and
care of her infant
:Schedule for Antenatal Visits
The first visit or initial visit should be made as early is pregnancy as possible. Return Visits: Once every month till 28 w. Once every 2 weeks till the 36 w Once every week, till labor.
Frequency of antenatal appointments
Nulliparous
with an uncomplicated pregnancy,
a schedule of 10 appointments.
Parous with
an uncomplicated pregnancy, a schedule of 7 appointments.
Assessment
History
Examination
Investigation
History Personal
history Family history Medical and surgical history Menstrual history Obstetrical history History of present pregnancy
Fetal kick count
The
pregnant woman reports at
least 10 movements in 12 hours.
Absence
of fetal movements precedes intrauterine fetal death by 48 hours.
Physical Examinations Height
of over 150 cm indication of an
average-sized pelvis The approximate weight gain during pregnancy is 12 kg.; 2kg in the first 20 weeks and 10 kg in the remaining 20 weeks (1.5 kg per week until term).
Symphysisfundal
height should be measured and recorded at each antenatal appointment from 24 weeks. Fetal presentation should be assessed by abdominal palpation at 36 weeks.
Fetal
heart sound is heard by sonicaid
as early as 10thweek of pregnancy.
Fetal
heart sound is heard by Pinard' s
fetal stethoscope after the 20thweek of pregnancy.
Breech presentation at term
ECV. If
is not possible to schedule at 37
weeks then ?!
Pregnancy after 41 weeks
Prior
to formal induction of labour,
women should be offered a vaginal examination for membrane sweeping. 42 weeks ?!
:Investigations(in clinic)
Urine should be tested for ketones and protein.
Health Teaching during the First
Trimester
Physiological changes during pregnancy Weight gain Fresh air and sunshine Rest and sleep Diet Daily activities Exercises and relaxation Hygiene Teeth Bladder and bowel Sexual counseling
Smoking : Medications Infection Irradiation Occupational and environmental hazards Travel Follow up Minor discomforts Signs of Potential Complications
Common Discomforts of Pregnancy,
:Etiology, and Relief Measures
Urinary frequency RELIEF MEASURES:
Decrease fluid intake at night.
Maintain fluid intake during day. Void when feel the urge.
Fatigue RELIEF MEASURES: Rest
Go
frequency.
to bed earlier.
Sleep difficulties RELIEF MEASURES: Rest frequency Decrease
Chew gum. Decrease fluid intake at night. Maintain fluid intake during day.
Nausea and vomiting
most cases of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy will resolve spontaneously within 16 to 20 weeks. that nausea and vomiting are not usually associated with a poor pregnancy outcome. non-pharmacological: ginger P6 (wrist) acupressure pharmacological: antihistamines.
Nausea and vomiting
RELIEF MEASURES: Avoid food or smells that exacerbate condition. Eat dry crackers or toast before rising in morning. Eat small, frequent meals. Avoid sudden movements. Get out of bed slowly Breath fresh air to help relieve nausea.
Heartburn RELIEF MEASURES: Eat
small, more frequent meals.
Use antacids. Avoid overeating and spicy foods.
Dependent edema
Avoid standing for long periods.
Elevate legs when laying or sitting. Avoid tight stockings.
Varicosities
Rest in sims' position.
Elevate legs regularly. Avoid crossing legs. Avoid long periods of standing
Hemorrhoids RELIEF MEASURES: Maintain regular bowel habits. Use prescribed stool softeners. Apply topical or anesthetic ointments to area.
Constipation RELIEF MEASURES: Maintain regular bowel habits. Increase fiber in diet. Increase fluids. Find iron preparation that is least constipating
Backache RELIEF MEASURES: Wear shoes with low heels. Walk with pelvis tilted forward. Use firmer mattress. Perform pelvic rocking or tilting
Leg cramps RELIEF Extend
MEASURES:
affected leg and dorsiflex the foot.
Elevate lower legs frequently. Apply heat to muscles.
Faintness :RELIEF MEASURES
Rise slowly from sitting to standing.
Evaluate hemoglobin and hematocrit. Avoid hot environments
Screening
Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Women
should be offered routine
screening for asymptomatic bacteriuria by midstream urine culture early in pregnancy. Identification and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria reduces the risk of pyelonephritis.
Gestational age assessment
New Pregnant women should be offered an early ultrasound
scan between 10 weeks 0 days and 13 weeks 6 days to determine gestational age and to detect multiple pregnancies. pregnancies
New Crownrump length measurement should be used to
determine gestational age. If the crownrump length is above 84 mm, the gestational age should be estimated using head circumference.
Screening for fetal anomalies
New The 'combined test' (nuchal translucency,
beta-human chorionic gonadotrophin, pregnancyassociated plasma protein-A) should be offered to screen for Down's syndrome between 11 weeks 0 days and 13 weeks 6 days.
For women who book later in pregnancy the most
clinically and cost-effective serum screening test (triple or quadruple test) should be offered between 15 weeks 0 days and 20 weeks 0 days.
Screening for gestational diabetes
New risk factors for gestational diabetes :
body mass index above 30 kg/m2
previous macrosomic baby weighing 4.5 kg or above previous gestational diabetes (refer to 'Diabetes in pregnancy family history of diabetes (first-degree relative with diabetes) family origin with a high prevalence of diabetes:
South Asian (specifically women whose country of family origin is India, Pakistan or Bangladesh) black Caribbean Middle Eastern (specifically women whose country of family origin is Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon or Egypt).
Screening for haematological conditions
New
Screening for sickle cell diseases
and thalassaemias should be offered to all women as early as possible in pregnancy (ideally by 10 weeks).
Anaemia Screening
shouldtake place early in
pregnancy (at the booking appointment). at 28 weeks when other blood screening tests are being performed. At 36 weeks.
Normal
range: 11 g/100 ml at first contact and 10.5 g/100 ml at 28 weeks) should be investigated and iron supplementation considered .
Blood grouping and red-cell alloantibodies
Women
should be offered testing for
blood group and rhesus D status in early pregnancy. To give anti-D at 28 weeks and post delivery if the baby (+)
Hepatitis B virus Serological
screening for hepatitis B
virus should be offered to pregnant women so that effective postnatal interventions can be offered to infected women to decrease the risk of motherto-child transmission.
Hepatitis C virus Pregnant
women should not be offered
routine screening for hepatitis C virus because there is insufficient evidence to support its clinical and cost effectiveness.
Rubella Rubella
susceptibility screening should
be offered early in antenatal care to identify women at risk of contracting rubella infection and to enable vaccination in the postnatal period for the protection of future pregnancies.
Nutritional Supplements
Folic Acid Start
before conception and throughout the
first 12 weeks. reduces the risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect (for example, anencephaly or spina bifida). The recommended dose is 400 micrograms per day.
Vitamin D New women at greatest risk are following advice to take this daily :supplement. These include women of South Asian, African, Caribbean or Middle Eastern family origin women who have limited exposure to sunlight, such as women who are predominantly housebound, or usually remain covered when outdoors women who eat a diet particularly low in vitamin D, such as women who consume no oily fish, eggs, meat, vitamin D-fortified margarine or breakfast cereal women with a pre-pregnancy body mass index above 30 kg/m2.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A supplementation (intake above
700 micrograms) micrograms might be teratogenic and should therefore be avoided
Iron Iron
supplementation should not be
offered routinely to all pregnant women. It does not benefit the mother's or the baby's health and may have unpleasant maternal side effects.
