Prenatal care

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Prenatal care

Prenatal care refers to the medical care recommended for women before and during pregnancy

Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the uterus of a female. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or Multiple birth....
. The aim of good prenatal care is to detect any potential problems early, to prevent them if possible (through recommendations on adequate nutrition, exercise, vitamin intake etc), and to direct the woman to appropriate specialists, hospitals, etc.

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Encyclopedia

Prenatal care refers to the medical care recommended for women before and during pregnancy

Pregnancy

Maternal death

Maternal death, or maternal mortality, also "obstetrical death" is the death of a woman during or shortly after a pregnancy. In 2000, the United Nations estimated global maternal mortality at 529,000, of which less than 1% occurred in the developed country....
rates and miscarriage

Miscarriage

Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation....
s as well as birth defects, low birth weight

Low Birth Weight

Low Birth Weight is the third album by Piano Magic....
, and other preventable infant problems in the developed world.

While availability of prenatal care has considerable personal health and social benefits, socioeconomic problems prevent its universal adoption in many developed as well as developing nations.

One prenatal practice is for the expecting mother to consume vitamins

Prenatal vitamins

Prenatal vitamins are vitamin supplements intended to be taken before and during pregnancy and during postnatal lactation. Although not intended to replace a healthy diet, prenatal vitamins provide women of child bearing age with nutrients recognized by the various health organiztions including the American Dietetic Association as helpful...
with at least 400 mcg of folic acid

Folic acid

Folic acid and Folate are forms of the water-soluble B vitamins. Vitamin B9 is essential to numerous bodily functions ranging from nucleotide synthesis to the remethylation of homocysteine....
to help prevent neural tube defects.

Prenatal care generally consists of:

monthly visits during the first two trimester
Trimester

Trimester means a period of three months. It is most commonly used in physiology related to pregnancy and at some universities to describe an academic term....
s (from week 1-28)
biweekly from 28 to week 36 of pregnancy
weekly after week 36 (delivery at week 38-40)

Physical examinations

Physical examinations generally consist of:

collection of (mother's) medical history
checking (mother's) blood pressure
(mother's) height and weight
pelvic exam
(mother's) blood and urine tests
discussion with caregiver

Ultrasound

Obstetric ultrasound

Obstetric ultrasonography

Obstetric sonography is the application of medical ultrasonography to obstetrics, in which ultrasound is used to visualize the embryo or fetus in its mother's uterus ....
s are most commonly performed during the second trimester at approximately week 20. Ultrasounds are considered relatively safe and have been used for over 35 years for monitoring pregnancy.

Among other things, ultrasounds are used to:

Diagnose pregnancy (uncommon)
Check for multiple fetuses
Determine the sex of the fetus
Assess possible risks to the mother (e.g., miscarriage
Miscarriage

Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation....
, blighted ovum, ectopic pregnancy
Ectopic pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the Fertilisationd ovum is implanted in any tissue other than the uterus wall. Most ectopic pregnancies occur in the Fallopian tube , but implantation can also occur in the cervix, ovary, and abdomen....
, or a molar pregnancy condition)
Check for fetal malformation (e.g., club foot
Club foot

A clubfoot, or Giles Smith syndrome , is a birth defect. TEV is classified into 2 groups Postural TEV or Structural TEV. Without treatment, persons afflicted often appear to walk on their ankles, or on the sides of their feet....
, spina bifida
Spina bifida

Spina bifida is a developmental birth defect involving the neural tube: incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube results in an incompletely formed spinal cord....
, cleft palate, clenched fists)
Determine if an intrauterine growth retardation condition exists
Note the development of fetal body parts (e.g., heart
Heart

The heart is a muscle organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods....
, brain
Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as cnidarian and echinoderm have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all....
, liver
Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals; it has a wide range of functions, a few of which are detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion....
, stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
, skull
Skull

The skull is a bone structure found in the head of many animals. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury....
, other bone
Bone

Bones are rigid organ that form part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They function to move, support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red blood cell and white blood cells and store minerals....
s)
Check the amniotic fluid
Amniotic fluid

Amniotic fluid or liquor amnii is the nourishing and protecting liquid contained by the amnion of a pregnant woman.Amnion grows and begins to fill, mainly with water, around two weeks after fertilization....
and umbilical cord
Umbilical cord

In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord comes from the same zygote as the fetus and normally contains two arteries and one vein , buried within Wharton's jelly....
for possible problems
Determine due date (based on measurements and relative developmental progress)

Generally an ultrasound is ordered whenever an abnormality is suspected or along a schedule similar to the following:

7 weeks - confirm pregnancy, ensure that it's neither molar or ectopic, determine due date
13-14 weeks (some areas) - evaluate the possibility of Down Syndrome
Down syndrome

Down syndrome, Down's syndrome, or trisomy 21 is a chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra chromosome 21 ....
18-20 weeks - see the expanded list above
34 weeks (some areas) - evaluate size, verify placental position