Right from conception up to delivery, every step of becoming a mother is fascinating. It is not only the nature of life, it is the process of life. To the future parents as well as the pregnant couple right now, I would like to give you a brief description of, “how a physician takes care of the mother and child” and also the advice given to the couple that has to be followed for sure. 

Systematic supervision of women during pregnancy from the time of conception till birth is known as “ANTENATAL CARE / PRENATAL CARE”. Actually, prenatal care is the care in a continuum that starts before pregnancy and ends at delivery and the postpartum period.

Following are the steps carried by the physician during antenatal care:

• Careful history taking and examinations.
• Necessary investigations to be carried out.
• Advice is given to pregnant women.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 

1. To increase fundamental resources to the mother during pregnancy for a healthy child.
2. To promote, protect and maintain the health of both mother and child.
3. To pro-active detection or to screen the “high-risk” cases. (Congenital malformations, pregnancy or delivery complications)
4. To prevent or to detect and treat at the earliest any complication.
5. To ensure continued risk assessment and to provide ongoing primary preventive health care.
6. To reduce infant and mother mortality rate.
7. To educate the mother about the physiology of pregnancy and labor by demonstrations, charts, and diagrams in order to remove fear.
8. To discuss with the couple about the place, time, and mode of delivery, provisionally and care of the newborn.
9. To motivate the couple about the need for family planning and also appropriate advice to couple seeking medical termination of pregnancy.
10. The objective is to ensure a normal pregnancy with the delivery of a healthy baby from a healthy mother.

ANTENATAL VISITS:

Regular visits to be maintained according to the schedule given by the physician. 

• Once in a month up to 28 weeks (7 months) of gestational age.
• Twice a month from 28 weeks to 34 weeks.
• Once in a week from the 34th week of gestation.

More frequent visits are to be maintained in complicated cases.

NOT ONLY MOTHER EVEN THE FATHER HAS TO TAKE UP THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BECOMING A PARENT.

ANTENATAL ADVICE:

To avoid major complications and to have a normal delivery, this advice is to be followed.

1. Sleep: Mother is advised to sleep for about 8-10 hours during the night and also 1 hour in the afternoon. The sleeping position is usually lateral.
2. Exercise: Relatable exercises have to be done in order to avoid gestational diabetes and also to promote normal delivery.
3. Hygiene: Daily hygiene has to be maintained, mainly in the genital areas.
4. Food: Balanced diet is suggested like Iron-rich foods, Calcium-rich foods, protein food.
5. Dressing: Loose cotton clothes are advised to avoid distress. Women are usually suggested to wear clothes that they feel comfortable with.
6. Mental health: Happy and comfortable atmosphere to be maintained for the mother. Husband and other family members play a major role in this.

THERE IS ONLY “PREGNANT COUPLE”, nothing like gender based in order to get a happy and healthy baby.

So my dear “to be moms”, your mental health is the most prioritized and then the physical health. Thus stay happy and healthy :)