It involves caring for the mother from the day she is pregnant through nine months of pregnancy to delivery of her child.
Various aspects of obstetrics care include:
- Pre Conceptional counseling regarding
Lifestyle changes like
- Daily healthy and on time meals
- Good 7-8 hrs of sleep
- Regular exercises
- Cessation of smoking and alcohol
- Avoiding drugs that are fetotoxic in the second half of every cycle when trying to conceive.
- Avoiding hormonal pills which have adverse effects on baby.
- Vaccination
- Rebulla
- HPV
- Hepatitis B
- Flu vaccines
- Preconceptional vitamins including folic acid, Vit D and other micronutrients.
- Changing over to drugs which are safe in pregnancy for women with illness requiring regular medication.(For Eg: Diabetes, Epilepsy, Heart Disease, Tuberculosis)
- Early recognition of pregnancy and counselling
Women are advised to report at the earliest if
- They missed their menses while having regular menses previously
- Experience nausea, vomiting, breast tenderness and generalized weakness with or without missed periods.
- Experience very scanty menses or spotting with slight delay in the regular menses and associated lower abdominal pain.
- Having pregnancy symptoms during lactational phase where periods are yet to start.
- Once pregnancy is established mothers are guided through 40 weeks of pregnancy with careful monitoring of
- Weight gain
- Diet and exercises
- Necessary nutritional supplementation
- Necessary investigation and counseling to ensure a healthy growing fetus.
- Early identification of pregnancy related complications and their management.
- Preparing them for birth and lactation.
- At the time of birthing, women are given necessary medical attention and emotional support in order to have a pleasant birthing experience.
- Lactational counseling and support in necessary to achieve excusive breastfeeding and bonding between mother and child.