Pregnancy is an important phase in the life of a woman. To ensure healthy mother and baby, it needs expert handling before, during and after delivery. Following are the recommendations for pregnancy care, phase wise.

Prenatal Phase

Care ideally starts 3-6 months before the actual pregnancy. Aim is history, examination, blood tests, treatment, education and planning. Good care decreases the chances of complications and puts you in a positive frame of mind. Issues to be addressed are-

• Folic acid supplements to be started. This is the first and foremost thing to be done to avoid anomalies like neural tube defects in the baby.
• Dietary advice
• Weight reduction if needed
• Medical disease detection and treatment
• Stop smoking and alcohol
• PAP Smear
• Thalassemia status
• Rubella status
• Shift to a safer option if taking medicine for chronic diseases

During Pregnancy

Regular visits are mandatory to monitor both mother and baby, once monthly for six months, once in two weeks till eight month, weekly thereafter. High risk pregnancies require more frequent visits. It includes-

• Blood and urine tests for anemia, sugar, infection, blood group
• BP and other vital signs
• Weight
• USG for anomalies in baby
• Growth of baby
• Vaccination
• Lactation, labour and other counselling

Post Partum

After delivery phase is the recovery period so very important. All organs come back to normal and body recovers. Lasts for around 6 weeks after birth. It includes-

• Rest- The entire ordeal of pregnancy and child birth creates havoc on your body, so it is crucial to rest for regaining strength and vitality. Sleep, sleep and sleep
• Nutrition needs special attention to loose weight and continue lactating as well. Take lots of protein, fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and avoid high fat snacks. Don’t forget your fluid intake to prevent slump in energy.
• Perineal/ abdominal care- Abstain from inter course for at least 6 weeks. Strenuous activities and weight lifting also to be avoided. Normal activities and kegel’s exercises can be done.
• Visit your doctor after 6 weeks for check up and contraceptive advice.

In nutshell, give yourself nothing but the best for this phase of life, don’t neglect health issues especially while expecting because your baby is very precious to be getting subnormal care.