Antenatal Care Benefits

What happens at your obstetrician? In obstetrics practice, your doctor inspect your fetus and makes sure it is growing well and without problems and inspects you and makes sure that you are adapting well to pregnancy and interferes when he detects any problems. Your doctor will also provide a safe delivery plan and support during the period after delivery till you return back to your pre-pregnancy shape. Good antenatal care has proven efficiency in reducing maternal and fetal problems and even death during pregnancy period or delivery period and after delivery period. In addition new techniques have been developed for prenatal testing that facilitated early detection of problems in the fetus and gives parents time to check for medical or surgical treatment after birth and also to prevent the same problems from happening again in other pregnancies.

Inspecting the mother: Your doctor opens an antenatal care file for you and takes your personal details and issues you a card with your file number. He will ask you some questions which have to be answered accurately like: Blood group and Rh factor? What illness did you have before, any kind of operation you had before, medications you took before, where you pregnant before and how did it go, when was your last period? Is there any a familial disease or hereditary traits in your family. And some other questions which will help him have a general idea on any risk factor that might happen during your pregnancy period. . Your weight and blood pressure will be recorded in the first visit and you will be asked to do some laboratory investigations (e.g. Blood picture, Blood Sugar, urine analysis, etc) and the doctor will decide upon the first sonar which will be around the 8th week of pregnancy. . He will give you instructions regarding nutrition, resting and exercising and will teach you the danger signs during pregnancy e.g. (vaginal spotting, fatigue, lower abdominal pain, severe vomiting) any of which if you feel, you contact him at once. . Each visit you will be inspected for weight, blood pressure, general inspection with the addition of inspecting the baby inside you .The doctor makes sure that everything is all right and there are no signs of danger like e.g. pre eclampsia, gestational diabetes. Then he prescribes the appropriate nutrition for your pregnancy interval and exercises which are suitable for you. . Your doctor arranges your visit schedules according to your case. You have to follow your doctor instructions well to deliver a healthy baby. You have to discuss with your doctor any changes that happen so that he can differentiate between normal and abnormal changes. Sometimes surgical interference occur (E.g. Cervical Cerculage) Immunity & Vaccines: Polio virus not to be given unless there is an epidemic. Mumps and rubella are not given in pregnancy. Hepatitis to be given for women at risk. Effect of drugs on baby: Drugs can pass to the baby through the placenta, taking medications and drugs without your doctor's approval can result in problems and fetal anomalies.

Inspecting the baby Fetal inspection is made of several tests that check the normal growth of the fetus including its internal parts, the absence of any anomaly in growth due to hereditary or genetic factors , absence of any disease in any organ of the fetus. The ultrasound machine uses ultrasound waves to draw the internal organs of the mother and fetus on a display screen.

Ultrasound • • •

Confirms presence of pregnancy. Location of pregnancy Placenta location and status.

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Cervical measurement growth

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Early detection of fetal anomalies at the anomaly scan made at 20 weeks. Doppler scanning for fetal growth retardation and repeated abortions.

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Fetal

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Amniotic fluid details.

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Biophysical profile by checking the baby respiration, heart beats and muscle movement.

Expected date of delivery. Baby presentation sex.

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Fetal

First trimester scan - Measuring the nuchal translucency which is a skin fold behind the neck for genetic screening at 11-13 weeks by ultrasound. - Biochemical Markers in weeks 11-13 (PAPPA – Free HCG) (Pregnancy Proteins). - Chorionic villous sampling in week 13 which is taking a sample of the placenta for examining. Second trimester scan - Amniotic fluid (Amniocentesis) inspection which occurs after taking a sample of the amniotic fluid by a needle through the abdomen under the guidance of the ultrasound at 16-20weeks. - Ultrasound anomalies scan at 18-21 weeks.