For most women, pregnancy is a very exciting time, full of changes and promise. Your life is altered in many ways and you take more and more care of yourself. With that, you also have many of your loved ones trying to make you comfortable and ready for the new baby, offering tips and advice for your new motherhood.
Though both your doctors and your well-wishers may have already told you this, the importance of prenatal care cannot be stressed enough. Prenatal care is extremely important for a healthy and complication free pregnancy.
Being informed about the course of your pregnancy and both prenatal and postpartum care will help you take better care of yourself.
If you are not yet pregnant but are planning to have a baby, do visit your doctor to get information about the best prenatal care practices. Prenatal care for pregnant women begins with prenatal visits to the doctor. Such visits allow you to have a closer contact with your doctor. Your doctor is able to monitor the progress of both the child and the mother more closely if you remain in constant touch with your doctor.
The doctor will also ask for your health history and any previous problems that you may have had. The doctor will take a physical exam and a pap smear test.
There are many other educational steps that you may take when you are pregnant. Many people go for childbirth education classes where a trainer tells you what to expect during your pregnancy. These classes will also prepare you for the small problems that are caused by pregnancy such as fatigue and morning sickness. A childbirth education class can help you be prepared for all scenarios during your pregnancy.
These will even help you prepare for labor and delivery.
There are some people who prefer using their native remedies for natural prenatal care too. Essences of different flowers like peach, gardenia, and ferns are used for prenatal care in many countries. However, the use of these should be first approved by your doctor. The more conventional prenatal care tips include various blood tests and urine tests. There are tests for hormones, physical examination of the cervix and the pelvis, HIV tests, and fetal monitoring.
There are regular ultrasounds and physical examinations when you are pregnant. The growth of the fetus is monitored. In the third trimester, prenatal care becomes more rigorous. The doctor suggests various tests. The doctor may ask you to keep a kick count of your baby. There may be electronic monitoring of the fetus and apart from that a biophysical profile is taken