Must know these Prenatal Care Facts if you are Pregnant

So what is Prenatal Care? Well, it is nothing but the health care you get when you are pregnant. Prenatal care is very crucial since your health and health of your baby completely relies on it.

Do I really need Prenatal care if I am pregnant?

Yes, it is must for women who are pregnant since it has been scientifically proven that a baby of a mother who did not get prenatal care are 3 times more prone to possess a low birth weight and 5 times more prone to die compared to those born to mothers who cared.

Early Care:

When you know that you are pregnant or you think you might be, you must visit a Doctor so as to ensure there are no further implications.

Regular Care:

Doctors can easily identify the problems after a check up so it is must to visit regularly as scheduled by your doctor. It not only ensures safety but also ensures that the treatment is done timely and prevents future implications.

So what are these prenatal tests?

It is nothing but the tests that are done while you are pregnant. These tests are helpful to know your and your baby’s present health condition.

For every checkup, tests on Blood pressure and urine are common. While if you have certain problems while you are pregnant than you might have to undergo some medical tests in your first trimester like Chorionic villus sampling (CVS), Cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier screening, Early ultrasound & First-trimester screening.

Parental tests for first Trimester of your pregnancy:

Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) procedure:

This tests the tissue surrounding the baby to find out if he/she has a genetic condition just like Down syndrome.

Usually this test is done after 10-12 weeks of pregnancy. This test is not recommended by most Doctors and mostly not performed if you are older than 35 years of age, if your family have any genetic disorder or if you baby has been diagnosed with birth defects.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier screening:

Commonly known as CF, is a health problem that impacts breathing and digestion. CF carrier screening is the test to see only if you have the gene that causes CF or not.

Early ultrasound:

Verifies (makes sure) that you’re pregnant.

First-trimester screening:

It determines if your baby has any birth defect of not by blood test.

Parental tests for second Trimester of your pregnancy:

Maternal blood screening:

This test is to see if your baby as birth defect or not. This test measures alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), estriol, human chorionic tesgonadostropin (HCG) and inhibin A in mother’s blood.

Amniocentesis:

Generally termed as amnio tests the amniotic fluid across your baby to find out if he/she has a genetic issue or not.

Ultrasound:

To check baby is growing and if there is any birth defects. Performed usually at 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Glucose screening:

To check if you have gestational diabetes or not. Usually done at 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy.

Parental tests for second Trimester of your pregnancy:

In your last trimester of your pregnancy you are tested for Group B strep, which is an infection that can be passed to your baby during birth.