Managing a pregnancy in a healthy, mindful manner is one of the best ways to promote a happy and safe birth. Pregnancy care – the treatments, training, and healthcare a woman receives before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and after birth – plays a key role in this, and helps ensure the well-being of both the mother and child throughout the experience.
Prenatal Care
Prenatal care refers to the medical care received both before and during a pregnancy to help assess the baby, address concerns, and provide education and support for the mother.
Pre-pregnancy
Prenatal care should actually begin three months before attempting to conceive. A pre-pregnancy visit to a doctor focuses on optimizing the health of the parents to improve health outcomes for the mother and baby, and can involve assessing their overall health, addressing lifestyle changes, and determining any potential risks.
Overall health and lifestyle review
A health checkup to discuss both parents’ current state of health is an important starting point for any pregnancy. Key discussion points will include adopting lifestyle changes such a diet to help weight-management, increasing physical activity safely, and avoiding harmful substances such as drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, ensuring all vaccinations are up-to-date to protect against infections during pregnancy, and taking supplements such as folic acid and ioddine to help prevent neural tube defects and other health issues. These steps can help reduce the likelihood of pregnancy complications.
Assessing potential risks
A pre-pregnancy check will also include discussing pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid problems, and other chronic diseases and how they may be affected during a pregnancy, as well as the impact of any medical prescriptions or over-the-counter drugs you may be taking that could be a potential risk to a baby. A family medical history will also be taken, and if genetic conditions are present, testing may be recommended. Finally, any underlying or persistent mental health illnesses will need to be addressed.
During pregnancy
Once pregnant, you must schedule regular healthcare appointments to meet with your obstetrician, midwives, and other healthcare professionals who have completed the requisite studies, such as an online MSN FNP program. Other pregnancy care may include classes that cover an overview of what you can expect during a pregnancy and birthing methods.
Healthcare appointments
These prenatal appointments will vary depending on the unique requirements of every pregnancy, but generally, your appointments will be scheduled slightly differently throughout each stage of pregnancy:
- one appointment every month for the first six months of pregnancy;
- one appointment every two weeks during the seventh and eighth months of pregnancy;
- one appointment every week during your ninth month of pregnancy.
During each of these visits, your healthcare team will monitor the health of the mother and baby, which may include the following:
- routine testing and screenings, such as blood tests to check for anemia or HIV;
- Mmonitoring blood pressure and weight gain;
- assessing the growth and heart rate of the baby;
- reviewing any ongoing illness or ailments with the mother;
- discussing current diet and exercise.
As you reach the later stages of pregnancy, the weight of the baby and their position in the womb will be monitored. Changes to the mothers body will also be noted, including the effacement of the cervix (the softening and shortening of the cervix to allow a baby to pass through), if ligaments in the pelvis loosening (allowing the pelvis to stretch more easily during labor), whether they are experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions, and even the presence of the nesting urge, as they can all be indicators the body is preparing for birth.
Pregnancy classes
Specialist classes may also be arranged to help empower parents with the knowledge needed for pregnancy, birth, and parenting. This may include providing a basic overview of what birth is like and the hospital procedures during birth, learning how to manage a mother’s well-being during pregnancy, coping skills, birthing methods such as HypnoBirthing, pain relief options, the role of a partner during pregnancy and birth, and how to recognize signs of labor. Classes may also focus on post-birth subjects such as breastfeeding, newborn care, and postpartum recovery.
Postnatal Care
Postnatal care focuses on care during the postpartum period, which generally lasts between six to eight weeks after birth. During this time, a mother will experience many physical and emotional changes, all while providing care for a newborn. Three important aspects of postnatal care include getting adequate rest, eating well, and vaginal care.
Resting when possible
Easier said than done, we know, but rest is critical for new mothers to rebuild their strength after birth. Some ways to assist with this may include:
Taking the opportunity to rest while the baby is sleeping. The urge to use this time to get ahead on chores, cleaning, and other household tasks can be hard to resist, but sleep should be prioritized, especially during the early weeks.
Keeping the baby’s crib nearby makes night feedings easier during the evening.
Considering letting your partner or other people in your support network manage some night feeds with a bottle while you sleep.
Maintain a proper diet
A mother’s body goes through a slew of changes during and after birth, so it is important to ensure you are getting adequate nutrition during this time to assist with recovery. If a mother chooses to breast-feed, they will also need additional food to maintain a good supply.
Top food tips include:
- avoid too many high-fat snacks such as chips or chocolate;
- focus on eating low-fat foods such as fruits and vegetables that also provide a good balance of protein and carbohydrates, to help feel full;
- stay hydrated and drink plenty of fluids.
Vaginal care
Many new mothers will experience some vaginal discomfort after birth. This can be a result of vaginal tearing during delivery, discharge including some blood clots, urination problems including pain while peeing or frequent urges to urinate, and even contractions during the first few days after delivery. Postpartum pads, ice packs, and over-the-counter painkillers can all help with vaginal symptoms after birth. A checkup with your doctor six weeks post-birth should be scheduled, but can be made sooner if any symptoms are persistent or causing extreme pain.
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