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How Will My Antenatal Visit Go?

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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.

What happens during the antenatal clinic?

Your doctor would obtain an account of your medical history and lifestyle from you to determine any risks you may have

The antenatal care you get throughout your pregnancy depends on:

  • your health and any risks you or your baby may have
  • the stage of pregnancy you are at, and
  • any problems you may experience.

The caregiver would :

  • Ask for the date of your last period, to estimate when the baby is due, what trimester you are in and what this means for you and your baby(ies)
  • Find out about your medical history, general health, and how any previous pregnancies were
  • Ask for the ethnic origins of you and your partner to find out whether your baby may be at risk of certain genetic inherited conditions
  • Confirm what (if any) medication you may be taking
  • Ensure you’ve had a recent pap smear (to assess the risk of cervical cancer)
  • Make sure you are in a good state of mental health, and providing support if you have depression or anxiety
  • Check your blood pressure and weight
  • Test your urine
  • Provide advice on a healthy diet
  • Examine your tummy to determine if you have a singleton or multiple pregnancy
  • Estimate the baby’s position and size, and listen to the baby’s heartbeat
  • Advise you on care for your baby after pregnancy

How many antenatal visits will I have?

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.

What assessments would I undergo?

Image: Shutterstock

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.

Antenatal care has been shown to improve pregnancy outcomes

Good luck!

References

NHS; 30/6/2020; https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/antenatal-midwife-care-pregnant/

https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/antenatal-care

Monitoring Your Baby’s Well-being during the Lockdown.

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Do you remember what it was like the first time you felt your baby kick? It initially feels like flutters or brushes on the inside of your tummy and as the baby grows becomes full-on punches, swishes, and rolls, often visible on your tummy.


The first kicks felt are called “quickening” and mum’s feel this for the first time between 16-24 weeks into their pregnancy.

African_Woman

The well-being of your unborn baby can be monitored at home using a fetal kick count chart especially once you are past 28 weeks pregnant (third trimester).

How do you do it?

Timing: The best time is to schedule this at the same time every day, preferably in the evening once you are done with your chores and can lie down.

Get a pen and paper, and note the time you want to start. Lie down on your left side, and while lying down make a tick each time baby makes a full range of motion and stops. This is 1 kick.

All you really need is a timepiece, a pen and a piece of paper

Once you have gotten 10 kicks, stop and note the time again. You expect 10 of these kicks in at most 12 hours (this is the Cardiff method).

If you don’t get up to 10, have a glass or two of water and try again in an hour.

Drawing up your fetal kick count chart is pretty easy

Do you need to monitor your baby’s movements?


Mums who have been told they have diabetes, hypertension or have had a difficult pregnancy or classified as high risk need to pay more attention to their baby’s movements.

What to do if you feel kicks are less than usual?

First of all, do not panic.

Call your doctor or midwife as soon as possible. They will interview you to assess how you are doing and if you need to come in for further checks which may include an ultrasound scan, listening for your baby’s heartbeat, and so on.
Have you used a fetal kick chart before? It’s easy to create.

References :

WHO recommendation on daily fetal movement counting

RCOG Guideline on reduced fetal movements

Counting Fetal Kicks: Too much info?

See also: Why Your Baby Sleeps The Way They Do

Causes of Pregnancy Loss or Miscarriage

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The true cause of 25-60% of pregnancy losses is unknown. Where it is known the causes could vary from medical conditions affecting the baby itself to those affecting the mother.

Most pregnancy losses within the first trimester are due to genetic disorders in the baby which are not compatible with life.

Thereafter,

  • structural or functional abnormalities with the body of the mother’s womb or placenta or cervix,
  • pre-existing medical conditions in the mother such as sickle cell disease, poorly controlled diabetes or hypertension, pre-eclampsia and thyroid disease,
  • hormonal imbalances,
  • incompatibilities with the mother and baby’s blood group (eg. Rhesus incompatibilities),
  • immune diseases such as antiphospholipid syndrome,
  • infections and
  • trauma are common causes of stillbirth.

Some of these conditions may threaten the ability of the mother’s body to sustain the pregnancy to its completion. They do this directly or cause abnormalities in the unborn baby that may not be compatible with its survival.

Useful advice for going back to work after a miscarriage

What causes miscarriages?

The true cause of 25-60% of pregnancy losses is unknown. Where it is known the causes could vary from medical conditions affecting the baby itself to those affecting the mother.

Why Is Finding Out the Cause Important?

The essence of exploring the causes of pregnancy loss with your health provider (where possible) is to set in motion a plan of action. The aim is to permanently correct any abnormality, manage any chronic condition proactively. Thus, we may be better prepared to forestall a repeat pregnancy loss the next time the mother conceives.

With the guilt that follows miscarriages, some individuals believe that sexual intercourse, strenuous exercise or work can lead to miscarriages. On the contrary, there is no known evidence to support this notion.

A story of still birth

What do you Feel When a miscarriage Occurs?

Sometimes a pregnancy loss may be silent ie. the mother may not observe any obvious signs coming to the knowledge of what has occurred during a routine check or after a missed period.

Common symptoms include:

  • bleeding of various degrees,
  • passage of the fetus or bits of tissue from your vagina,
  • abdominal cramps of various degrees, fever,
  • lower back pain and loss of previously felt symptoms of pregnancy such as breast fullness, nausea.


Once a total or imminent pregnancy loss is confirmed, your health care provider will need to ensure that your womb is completely empty. This is verified through a series of tests which would include an ultra sound scan as well as give you medication and/or perform a surgical procedure on you.

What causes miscarriages ?