Antenatal care is the attention mothers receive during pregnancy. It ensures you and your baby are in the best state of health. Over the period of pregnancy, the doctor follows up on you and your baby’s health to ensure your pregnancy goes as smoothly as possible.
Attending your antenatal appointments is quite important. Any potential risks to the baby can be identified and prevented or reduced. Antenatal care is important in the prevention of several pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia.
Antenatal clinics serve as good avenues to learn more about the baby’s growth per trimester. This is a chance for the doctors and midwives to educate you on any important changes in your lifestyle you may need to make.
Some hospitals have classes just before the clinics begin. Others have these on special days. Here, you will get information that will prepare you for childbirth, care of your baby such as bathing, diapering, breastfeeding.
The antenatal care you get throughout your pregnancy depends on:
The caregiver would :
The frequency of your antenatal visits is determined by the results of your assessments. Pregnancies with possible complications would come with more antenatal visits, for example, if a mother has gestational diabetes or sickle cell disease, the doctor needs to monitor the pregnancy more closely than others.
In most hospitals in Nigeria, they schedule you to have one visit per month until the pregnancy is about 22 weeks. Then one visit every two weeks till about 32 weeks and once a week till birth.
You would have ultrasound pregnancy scans done between 8 to 14 weeks to check for any abnormalities in the baby’s organs. These are repeated based on need.
Also, you would have blood tests to check for your blood group and genotype, HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis, and other infections that can affect your pregnancy or be passed on to your baby. Every visit, your doctor would also examine your pregnancy to check the baby’s heartbeats and movements.
Antenatal visits can seem very stressful and time-consuming. However, it is still in the best interest for you and your baby. To get the best out of your visit, be sure to write down beforehand questions or concerns you have. Always ask questions and make notes of the responses your doctor gives you.
Good luck!
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