What is Prenatal Care and Why is it Important?

Prenatal care is the care that you receive during your pregnancy. A healthy pregnancy is the most important step toward a healthy birth. Prenatal care which you receive early and regularly increases the chances of a healthy pregnancy. This can also include the care which you receive prior pregnancies.

Being pregnant is a miracle and a gift of nature. This means now you are responsible for another life. Therefore, it is so crucial to know in detail what is prenatal care and why is it important. Prenatal pregnancy information helps you a lot to deal with so many issues during this whole era. The importance of prenatal care is long rooted. It not only produces a healthy child but also a healthy mother who is supposed to take care of that infant.

You cannot understand the meaning of life until it grows inside you

Sandra Chami Kssis

I totally agree with Sandra about her opinion related to pregnancy. Even if you are a new mom or already have kids. Once you come to know that you are pregnant it is very exciting. You always look forward to having a healthy you and your baby. As you get pregnant the very first question that arises in your mind is, what is prenatal care and why is it important?

This is not just a question, it is a base of two lives, one of the babies and the other one of the mother. This blog provides you with the necessary information about the importance of prenatal care.

Something about Prenatal Care!

The care that a female receives throughout pregnancy and even prior pregnancies is called prenatal care. Consistent and accurate pre-birth care can help you to become aware of some issues earlier. While solving these issues you can reduce the risks related to health and birth complications.

As you come to know that you are pregnant you must see a gynecologist or plan prenatal visits in a community healthcare center. The first prenatal visit is so important. Your doctor will do a detailed physical checkup, weight check, urine sample test, and will plan prenatal appointments. Then he/she will prepare a schedule of prenatal visits according to your age and health conditions. This will help your doctor to assess and solve your pregnancy issues during prenatal appointments.

Prenatal Care is a Blessing

Every mother is so concerned about the baby’s health. So, it is very vital to have a stress-free pregnancy. It will benefit the baby’s health as well in the womb. An excellent pre-birth assures you to enjoy every stage of pregnancy. It helps you to notice and own the different changes which take place during these 9 months of pregnancy.

Prenatal care guides you to understand which foods are good to eat during pregnancy. It also makes you aware of the foods which must be avoided for the sake of the good health of you and your baby’s health. Because some foods can be a hurdle in the way of a healthy pregnancy.

Prenatal Check-up

The upper part of the article has explained to you well that prenatal care includes both pre-pregnancy and pre-birth care. This portion will tell you what happens during both segments.   

Pre-pregnancy Check-ups

Pre-pregnancy checkups help a female to take healthy steps before getting pregnant. During these prenatal visits, a doctor does a detailed checkup and analyzes your body mechanisms. These prenatal appointments help you to plan a reproductive life.

Doctors determine whether you need a clear amount of folic acid. Body immunity, diabetes, and high blood pressure or low blood pressure are analyzed. You get guidance about proper body weight in accordance with your height. Your partner and your family’s medical history is being recorded.

Pre-birth Check-ups

Pre-birth check-ups are more important than pre-pregnancy checkups. These check-ups can inform a mother about serious complications related to the baby healthy growth and birth defects. The first prenatal care checkup is most important because the doctor needs to know about family health history. For this purpose, he/she can also consult with your family physician or family doctor.

The pre existing medical conditions are also being recorded for better medical care and women’s health. If you have any health insurance you can inform the health department during this visit. During doctor’s visits, he/she gives you accurate nutritional information which is beneficial for both the mother and the fetus’s health. These prenatal visits actually determine what is prenatal care and why is it important.

Important steps of prenatal checkups to prevent complications

• First of all, your doctor will plan a schedule of visits throughout your pregnancy.
• During these prenatal visits, your doctor checks the medical history, the health of the mother, and the growing baby. He will take serious steps to avoid your baby’s low birth weight.
• Your doctor will let you know about a safe diet and healthy exercise. You are also guided to avoid harmful substances such as smoking, alcohol intake, and other dangerous drugs.
• He will guide you on how to protect yourself from high blood pressure or low blood pressure.
• You are recommended to eat folic acid, herbal supplements, and other necessary vitamins like Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Calcium, Zinc, and Iron. All these supplements help to reduce the risk of neural tube defects and other complications such as premature birth, excessive bleeding, and early water breakage.
• Your doctor prescribes some important vaccinations like Influenza, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, etc. These vaccinations will protect you and your baby from some abnormalities for example heart defects, neural tube defects, low birth weight, and lung problems.
• Ultrasound exams are done to monitor the proper growth and normal positioning of the fetus.
• These are some examples of prenatal care that explain well the importance of prenatal care. All these protective measures let your doctor know about any unfortunate abnormality and take protective steps as soon as possible.  

Other Bizarre Facts You Never Experienced Before!

• Lack of sleep or excessive sleep
• Nausea or vomiting
• Cramps in different parts of the body.
• Back pain
• Fatigue or tiredness
• Constipation or acidity.
• Feet swelling or legs especially in the last trimester.
• Breathlessness after little work in the last trimester.
• All these issues are very common during pregnancy, and you should not worry about them. They disappear with the passage of time. But still, it is obligatory to take care of a female during these issues because she really feels exhausted. It is difficult for her to gather the energy to deal with all these issues because she never felt so before.

Family and partner support

Family and partner support is so important during pregnancy. For this purpose, they must know what is prenatal care and why is it important? A partner should communicate openly with her wife and understand her point of view honestly. This is the time period when their relationship can get stronger or weaker. Pregnancy mood swings make a female extra sensitive and she needs the strong support of her partner.

If she receives what is the requirement of the time from her partner then it can assure a healthy pregnancy and a stronger relationship, otherwise, the situation will be vice versa. Family and partners can help her in terms of positive communication, providing her with healthy food, helping in physical activities, and avoiding smoking and alcohol intake. They can also help her while talking about the importance of prenatal and postnatal care. They can give her tips about how to take care of a newborn and how to deal with some unfortunate happenings.   

Things a partner can do to support her wife during pregnancy

Here are some examples of partner support

• Go with her to doctor visits.
• Help her take decisions regarding prenatal blood tests.
• Attend childbirth classes with her.
• Be patient with her.
• Do not forget to show affection and love, hold her hands, kiss her, and ask her what she needs.
• As she should not be drinking alcohol or coffee you should also try to cut back on these things.
• Try eating healthy with her.
• Help in household chores, like cleaning and cooking.
• Give her massages especially on her foot and back as it will help her aches during pregnancy.
• If you guys have other children take more responsibility for them like helping them with school work etc.

Conclusion

The sum and substance of all the discussion is that the importance of prenatal care is definite. Prenatal care assures the parents have a healthy pregnancy. It is the most important gift that you can give a female during pregnancy. It will benefit the whole system of the family. Your relationship will be stronger than before. You will be blessed with a healthy baby. Your wife will be happy and healthy to look after the newborn. Your positive attitude and care will give her extra energy to perform all the tasks happily and to enjoy all the changes of pregnancy. For more important tips you can also read about some other tips related to postnatal care.

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