
Checkup, tests and scans infographic
Check out our handy guide for antenatal visits.
Once your pregnancy is confirmed, it is important to see your GP or midwife as soon as possible so that you can determine your needs. The appointments during your pregnancy are called your antenatal visits or antenatal care.
An antenatal appointment will allow your GP, midwife and others on your healthcare team to help both you and your baby stay healthy. Even you are feeling well and if your pregnancy is going well , it is important for you to attend your appointments so that any potential risks can be identified and prevented, or minimized. To be.
This is also a great opportunity to ask any questions you may have about your pregnancy such as what is happening during each trimester, physical pregnancy symptoms and the birth itself. You may want to ask questions about caring for your baby after birth.
You can also get help with your lifestyle, including mental health or dietary advice, or to quit smoking or avoid drinking alcohol. You can discuss any problem you may have at home.
You may want to see your own GP before choosing a midwife. this is up to you.
It may also depend on whether you plan to give birth in a public hospital or not. If so, it’s likely you’ll see a doctor or midwife in the hospital.
If you are planning to give birth at a birth centre, you will probably have visits with the midwife at the birth centre.
If you intend to have your baby in a private hospital, you will most likely have an appointment with your obstetrician in their room.
If you are planning to have a home birth, your prenatal care will probably be provided by a midwife in your home, hospital, or elsewhere in the community.
The antenatal care you receive during pregnancy depends on:
There will be many investigations, scans, tests and discussions, such as:
Advice about taking your baby home, feeding them, and other care
Check out our handy guide for antenatal visits.
If this is your first pregnancy and you’re not having any problems, you’ll likely have about 8 to 10 visits.
If this isn’t your first pregnancy, you’ll probably have 7-9 appointments if you haven’t had a complicated pregnancy before.
The number of visits may change depending on whether your pregnancy becomes complicated. If this happens, your midwife or doctor may need to increase the number of appointments and you may need more tests and scans.
Yes. It’s a good idea to have your birth support partner, family member, or friend come to visit with you, especially when your birth plan is being discussed and you want them to support you during the birth.
If you have any questions about antenatal concerns or care about your pregnancy, contact:
Prenatal care is essential to protect the health of women and their unborn children. Through this form of preventive health care, women can learn from skilled healthcare workers about healthy behaviors during pregnancy, better understand the warning signs during pregnancy and childbirth, and at this critical time in their lives. social, emotional and psychological support. Through antenatal care, pregnant women can receive micronutrient supplementation, treatment of high blood pressure to prevent eclampsia, as well as vaccination against tetanus. Antenatal care may also provide HIV testing and medications to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child. In areas where malaria is endemic, health workers can provide pregnant women with medications and insecticide-treated mosquito nets to help prevent this debilitating and sometimes fatal disease.
Regular contact with a doctor, nurse or midwife during pregnancy allows women to receive services important to their health and that of their future children. The World Health Organization (WHO) has updated its recommendations from a minimum of four antenatal care contacts to a minimum of eight contacts, to reduce antenatal mortality and improve the care experience for women. However, reporting data at the global, regional and country levels is currently only available for a minimum of four visits, which is in line with the previous recommendation. These data indicate that the proportion of women receiving at least 4 antenatal care visits varies greatly between 13 percent in countries in sub-Saharan Africa to more than 90 percent in regions including Latin America and the Caribbean and European regions. varies. .
Globally, while 87 percent of pregnant women access prenatal care with skilled healthcare workers at least once, less than three in five (59 percent) receive at least four antenatal care. In looking at these figures, it is important to remember that the percentage does not take into account the health care provider’s skill level or the quality of care, both of which can affect whether such care will actually bring about better motherhood. and newborn health.
Historical data shows that the proportion of women receiving at least four antenatal care visits has increased globally over the past decade. However, the scale and pace of this progress varies greatly by region. For example, in West and Central Africa, only half of pregnant women received four or more antenatal care visits between 2014 and 2020 (53 percent). Strong and rapid progress in all high-burden areas is needed to drastically improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Despite progress, large regional and global disparities are seen by residence and wealth among women receiving at least four antenatal care visits. Women living in urban areas were more likely to receive at least four antenatal care than women living in rural areas, with an urban-rural gap of 24 percentage points (73 percent and 49 percent, respectively). In addition, antenatal care coverage increases with wealth, with the richest quintile being more likely to receive at least four antenatal care than the poorest quintile, with a wealth gap of 40 percentage points (78 percent and 38 percent). it happens. st, respectively)
In line with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Global Strategy for Women, Children and Adolescent Health (2016–2030) is a priority for actions designed to help families live healthy, secure lives and meet their economic potential. represents the necessary change. The Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH-N) agenda is now both broader and more complex than the case for the Millennium Development Goal era, creating a need for new data. To contribute to this need, the Countdown to 2030 for the Health of Women, Children and Adolescents, a multi-institutional network of academics from institutions around the world and representatives of United Nations agencies and civil society, aims to monitor and To increase the measurement. The health of women, children and adolescents globally and across countries.
The manuscripts in this collection represent the first development of countdown work to increase measurement. They identify some of the continuous measurement and monitoring gaps in the RMNCAH-N, for example, by reviewing the evidence on ways to create effective coverage estimates and by introducing actionable analytical methods to identify disparities within and between countries. . The collection also considers measurement advances for early childhood development and nutrition. In addition, it expands to analyze new priority issues, including using national surveys to analyze the impact of armed conflicts on the RMNCAH-N; and to illustrate the new data needed to better understand the social, political and contextual complexity of health system governance.
Use the information and counseling sheets to support your interactions with the woman, her partner, and family.
Avoid tobacco consumption during pregnancy.
Avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.
Do not take any medication or nicotine replacement therapy to stop tobacco.
Use the information and counselling sheet to support your interaction with the woman, her partner and family.
Use the information and counseling sheets to support your interactions with the woman, her partner, and family.
Review the following with him:
where will she go?
how will they get there?
how much it will cost for services and transport?
can she start saving straight away?
who will go with her for support during labour and delivery?
who will care for her home and other children?
Counseling on the importance of family planning
If appropriate, ask the woman if she would like another family member or her partner to be included in the counseling session.
Let us tell you that if she has sex after birth and is not exclusively breastfeeding, then she can get pregnant only after four weeks of delivery. That’s why it’s important to start thinking early about what family planning method they’ll use.
→
Ask about plans to have more children. If she (and her partner) wants more children, advise that waiting at least 2 years before trying to get pregnant again is good for the health of the mother and baby.
→
Knowing when to start a method after delivery depends on whether the woman is breastfeeding or not.
→
Arrange for the woman to see a family planning counselor, or consult her directly (see Decision Making Tools for Family Planning Providers and Clients for information on the method and counseling process).
Counseling on safe sex, including the use of condoms for dual protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or HIV and pregnancy. Promote especially if you are at risk of STIs or HIV G4.
See G4 for family planning considerations , For HIV-infected women,
Her partner can decide to have a vasectomy (vasectomy) at any time.
Can be used immediately postpartum | Condoms Progestogen-only oral contraceptives Progestogen-only injectables Implant Spermicide Female sterilization (within 7 days or delay 6 weeks) Copper IUD (immediately following expulsion of placenta or within 48 hours) |
---|---|
Delay 3 weeks | Combined oral contraceptives Combined injectables Diaphragm Fertility awareness methods |
Counselling should be given during the third trimester of pregnancy.
can be performed immediately postpartum if no sign of infection (ideally within 7 days, or delay for 6 weeks).
plan for delivery in hospital or health centre where they are trained to carry out the procedure.
ensure counselling and informed consent prior to labour and delivery.
can be inserted immediately postpartum if no sign of infection (up to 48 hours, or delay 4 weeks)
plan for delivery in hospital or health centre where they are trained to insert the IUD.
Can be used immediately postpartum | Lactational amenorrhoea method (LAM) Condoms Spermicide Female sterilization (within 7 days or delay 6 weeks) Copper IUD (within 48 hours or delay 4 weeks) |
---|---|
Delay 6 weeks | Progestogen-only oral contraceptives Progestogen-only injectables Implants Diaphragm |
Delay 6 months | Combined oral contraceptives Combined injectables Fertility awareness methods |
Encourage the woman to bring her partner or family member to at least 1 visit.
1st visit | Before 4 months | Before 16 weeks |
---|---|---|
2nd visit | 6 months | 24-28 weeks |
3rd visit | 8 months | 30-32 weeks |
4th visit | 9 months | 36-38 weeks |
If the problem was: | Return in: |
---|---|
Hypertension | 1 week if >8 months pregnant |
Severe anaemia | 2 weeks |
HIV-infection | 2 weeks after HIV testing |
Reinforce the importance of delivery with a skilled birth attendant
If the woman has chosen to deliver at home without a skilled attendant, review these simple instructions with the woman and family members.
Tell her/them:
For example:
not to use local medications to hasten labour.
not to wait for waters to stop before going to health facility.
NOT to insert any substances into the vagina during labour or after delivery.
NOT to push on the abdomen during labour or delivery.
NOT to pull on the cord to deliver the placenta.
NOT to put ashes, cow dung or other substance on umbilical cord/stump.
Encourage helpful traditional practices:
If the mother or baby has any of these signs, she/they must go to the health centre immediately, day or night, WITHOUT waiting
Mother
Baby
My name is Pooja Yadav and I live in Varanasi UP. I have done Nursing from UP Nursing Council. I am a trained nurse as well as a mother of two children. The things I face every day in my profession, I solve problems that my patients face and share my experiences with you.