Having prenatal care allows for better fetal development during pregnancy; it is a way to ensure that your child is born healthy and has a good start in life.
Ideally, becoming parents is a decision based on love, on the desire to form a family, but it also entails taking responsibility for a new life. Therefore, parents must prepare themselves before conception, as this will ensure that their children grow and develop in a suitable and healthy environment.
‘The couple must be emotionally and psychologically ready, and in the case of the mother, physically too,’ says Mario Salazar, an obstetrician. In other words, parenthood must be a decision that allows parents to be able to meet the needs of their children and for them to develop in the best possible way. It is therefore essential to take measures before, during, and after pregnancy.
According to Ana Lucía Diez, a neonatologist, part of preparing the environment for the baby’s development is for the mother to have check-ups with her gynecologist before conception and to make sure that there is no infection in her body.
For the World Health Organization (WHO), a woman’s nutritional status is essential before and during pregnancy, as this will influence fetal growth and development. ‘Poor nutritional status in the period before conception and at the beginning of pregnancy (up to 12 weeks of gestation) can increase the risk of adverse outcomes,’ says the WHO. So, by considering this and putting it into practice in the mother’s health, the probability of a positive development of the pregnancy will increase.
Prenatal care
Laboratory tests
After making the decision to become pregnant and taking appropriate health measures, it is important to undergo a series of tests with specialist doctors to determine the mother’s health status, including a hematology test, a fasting sugar test, and to ensure that she does not have any diseases that could cause discomfort to the fetus.
According to Salazar, one of the first tests that the couple should undergo when the mother is pregnant is the Rh factor test, which allows the compatibility of the parents to be known. According to an article published in Kids Health, the Rh factor is a protein that most people carry in their blood, therefore, they are positive; in the case that they do not carry it, they are negative.
If the mother and child are not compatible, and in the case that the mother is Rh negative and the child is Rh positive, what will happen is that the mother’s antibodies will identify the baby’s Rh factor as a foreign substance, enter the bloodstream and attack the cells that contain it. This could lead to malformations in the baby, explains Salazar.
Mother’s nutrition
Another fundamental factor for the mother is her diet. To do this, she must be accompanied by specialists who will tell her what the appropriate diet and the specific supplements she needs, especially for the health of the baby. ‘We want a healthy baby and what is not provided at the right time through nutrition could affect the situation of not developing normally,’ adds Salazar.
‘Hence the importance of vitamins, including additional folic acid, which helps in the formation of the baby’s brain and nervous system,’ says the doctor. Likewise, Diez emphasizes the consumption of folic acid, since ‘it allows reducing the risk of neural tube defects in 70% of cases. This problem occurs when the spinal column or the central nervous system does not finish forming properly,’ he explains.
Although the amounts of folic acid you should consume are prescribed based on evaluations, Diez recommends that you include at least 400 micrograms in your diet. ‘Some prenatal supplements contain it, but this would be worth evaluating with a professional,’ says the expert. Likewise, some foods have a good supply of this vitamin, such as cereals, bread, pasta, orange juice, and green leafy vegetables.
To avoid complications…
In addition to pre-pregnancy care and nutrition, it’s important to keep track of the mother’s blood pressure. When blood pressure is elevated, it causes preeclampsia, which can lead to serious, even life-threatening complications for both mother and baby, the Mayo Clinic says. Warning signs include headaches, excess protein in the urine, nausea, vomiting, and vision changes, among others.
Therefore, it is important to detect it in time to avoid complications in fetal development such as fetal growth restriction, premature birth, placental abruption, and cardiovascular disease, among others.
Don’t forget to monitor your blood sugar levels, because if you have diabetes, ‘the baby may be very large but immature, may not grow well, or may have blood sugar problems,’ says Diez. So it must be detected early.
It is also not advisable to consume tobacco or alcohol, as the mother could be diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome, which causes neurological problems, intellectual disability, and kidney and bone problems. ‘Drinking alcohol causes the baby to not grow properly and is at risk of sudden infant death,’ adds Diez.
Salazar recommends doing relaxation and breathing exercises, as well as aerobic exercises that do not require much effort to oxygenate both the mother and the baby.
The neonatologist reminds us of the importance of consulting with specialist doctors since pregnancy is a very vulnerable stage. In these cases, you should make sure that you can take certain medications and supplements necessary for the proper development of your pregnancy.