Most pregnancies are healthy, and most complications that become dangerous were detectable earlier. That is the whole purpose of antenatal care: not to treat illness, but to notice change while it is still easy to manage.
Come as soon as you think you are pregnant
The first visit is best made as soon as a period is missed and a test is positive. Early on, we can confirm the pregnancy and its location, date it accurately by ultrasound, start iron and folic acid, and pick up conditions such as anaemia, diabetes or thyroid disease while there is time to act.
How many visits
The World Health Organization recommends at least eight antenatal contacts through a pregnancy. Many women here still have three or four. If circumstances allow only a few, the early booking visit and the visits in the last two months are the ones to protect.
What happens at a visit
- Blood pressure and weight, every time — rising blood pressure is one of the most important things we watch for.
- Urine testing for protein and sugar.
- Blood tests: haemoglobin, blood group and Rh, blood sugar, hepatitis B, syphilis.
- Ultrasound at appropriate points to date the pregnancy, check growth and the position of the placenta.
- Tetanus immunisation according to your schedule.
- Iron and folic acid, and calcium where indicated.
- Listening to the baby’s heartbeat, and later checking the baby’s position.
Danger signs — come immediately, at any hour
- Bleeding from the vagina
- Severe headache, blurred vision or flashing lights
- Sudden swelling of the face or hands
- Severe upper abdominal pain
- Fever
- Fluid leaking from the vagina
- The baby moving noticeably less than usual
- A fit or convulsion — this is an emergency; go to hospital or call 999
Reduced fetal movement is never something to sleep on and check in the morning.
Plan the birth before you are in labour
Decide where you will deliver and how you will get there, including at night. Set money aside. Identify someone who could donate blood if it were needed. Keep your records and reports together in one folder and bring them to every visit. These arrangements are what turn an emergency into an inconvenience.
Medicines and remedies
Do not take any medicine in pregnancy, including familiar painkillers and herbal or homeopathic preparations, without asking first. Bring anything you are already taking to your next visit.
This article is general health information, not a diagnosis. For anything specific to you, please come to the chamber or call 01357-296604 for a serial.
