5 Crucial Benefits of Prenatal Care

After learning about their pregnancy, many future mothers immediately go shopping for baby clothes and start decorating the nursery, while forgetting to schedule a prenatal appointment with their obstetrician. They are so excited and happy about the fact that they are going to have a baby that they simply think everything is going to be just fine and that they can visit their doctor later.

However, while preparing your home for a new baby is completely normal, what’s more important is preparing your body for a nine month journey. Therefore, receiving good prenatal care as soon as you find out you are pregnant is of the utmost importance for both your and your baby’s health.

Having great prenatal care will not only help you get answers to all of the possible questions you may have, but it will also help you build a relationship with your obstetrician and help you feel more comfortable and confident before you go into labor. Prenatal care offers several benefits that are crucial for you and your baby, so take a look at what those benefits are.

 

Reduced Risk of Pregnancy Complications

 

Although almost every pregnancy turns out to be perfectly normal for the entire time, you never know when some kind of a complication might occur. Good prenatal care ensures you and your baby remain perfectly fine and healthy during your entire pregnancy, since any potential health problems may be detected during your regular check-ups with your doctor. It goes without saying that detecting them on time is crucial for dealing with them effectively and successfully.

Prenatal care can help you potentially detect anaemia and gestational diabetes, as well as pre-eclampsia, and it is crucial to detect those early so that proper treatment can take place. This is one of the main reasons why prenatal care is essential for a healthy pregnancy and its main benefit is that it helps you greatly reduce the risk of any potential complications during pregnancy.

 

An Insight into Your Baby’s Development

 

By having regular prenatal care visits with your obstetrician, you will always know how your baby is doing and how its development and growth is progressing. The speed of your baby’s growth can tell a lot about your baby’s physical development and can be a significant indicator of how it is doing inside your womb.

During your prenatal care check-ups, your OB will measure your belly, which will show exactly how much your little baby is growing. Needless to say, ultrasounds will immensely help in learning about your baby’s growth and overall development and it is absolutely essential that you have an ultrasound on a regular basis.

 

Nutritional Information for Following a Healthy Diet

 

This is another very important benefit of receiving good prenatal care. Your doctor will provide you with all the necessary information regarding proper nutrition in order for you and your baby to stay healthy during the entire period of nine months.

Your doctor will tell you what you should and should not eat during your pregnancy and it’s important to remember that you do not have to eat for two. That is a complete myth, since you only need about 300 extra calories a day in order to provide both yourself and your baby with all the necessary food and vitamins.

 

Opportunity to Take Certain Very Important Tests

 

Prenatal care can provide you with an opportunity to take some tests that are very important for detecting certain problems that can’t be detected any other way. Your obstetrician may schedule certain tests depending on your medical and family history, as well as your age.

For instance, your OB may schedule a test called amniocentesis, which can help detect potential genetic abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, as well as detect a potential uterine infection or check your baby’s lungs. There are a lot of other prenatal tests that you may need to take, but they are only available if you have proper prenatal care.

 

Learning Everything about Labor and Delivery

 

It is very important that you learn everything there is to know about labor and prenatal visits with your OB can help you get all of your questions answered by a professional. During your prenatal check-ups, you can discuss everything you want with your doctor, including labor and delivery procedures, potential scenarios and any concern you may have.

You should feel free to ask your doctor anything you want and learn all about potential risks that may happen during pregnancy or labor, and learn about all the benefits of each and every treatment available.

Regular prenatal care is extremely important for every future mother and her baby, so make sure you schedule an appointment with the best obstetrician as soon as possible and receive the best possible care.

from Feedster http://www.feedster.com/blog/vladzivanovic/5-crucial-benefits-of-prenatal-care/