A procedure called antenatal care refers to the time to time supervision of the pregnant women for 9 months and throughout the pregnancy period. The care procedure involves a team work of multiple medical experts. Including midwife, sonographer, obstetric physiotherapist, paediatrician and obstetrician to care for the new mothers and unborn child. Additionally, screening, regular-checkups, proper guidance, fetus development and overall well-being of the child and mother are the primary objectives of Antenatal care.

It is a significant and indispensable care procedure to ensure the healthy condition of the pregnant woman and unborn child. The procedure is important from the perspective of maternal health to reduce the risks of complications and diseases that can occur in both unborn and expecting women.

Other than that Prenatal vitamins, vaccination, HIV infection tests, management of pre-existing diseases etc., are common treatments that are provided to the mother under the consultation of the gynecologist in antenatal care. Once the antenatal care is over for 9 months gynecologist determines the cesarean section treatment or vaginal delivery according to the condition of the mother.

Importance of Antenatal Care & Its Cost in India

Antenatal care is crucial for ensuring the healthy condition of both child and mother. Therefore, a lot of parents seek good care options for their unborn child’s health. Hence, there are several importance of this care. Such as it reduces the risk of complications, assists doctors to provide right treatment on right time to the patient, prepares the women for safe delivery, reduces maternal and neonatal mortality rate, provides emotional support to the expecting women etc.

Therefore, the antenatal care sometimes gets expensive however, its cost effective in India. If we talk about its cost it ranges from 50,000 to 10 lakhs in India. Although, it is not a lone cost, it includes the overall cost of all tests, medication, consultation fees and many more. Other than that there are several government schemes that provide economic support to the individuals while providing antenatal care.

Antenatal Tests To Monitor Pregnancy

Following are the required tests, suggested by the doctors to monitor the pregnancy:

Blood Test
Urine Test
Ultrasound
Blood Pressure
Amniocentesis
Chorionic Villus Sampling
Prenatal Cell-free DNA screening
Combined first-trimester screen

Schedules of Antenatal care

Antenatal care is scheduled on the basis of trimesters which are briefly mentioned below:

a) First Trimester 4-12 (weeks pregnancy)

Initially, parents book an appointment through phone call or through reaching out on the online medical tourism websites. After that you get proper consultation to confirm the pregnancy. Additionally, a doctor reviews medical history and performs some necessary tests like blood test and sonography and then confirms the pregnancy.

b) Second Trimester 13 -28 (weeks pregnancy)

The second trimester is scheduled every 4 weeks to assess fetus development and measure the woman’s blood pressure and weight checks. Doctors also do screening to check the risk of gestational diabetes and anemia in the expecting woman.

c) Third Trimester 29-40 (weeks pregnancy)

Third and last trimester is scheduled between 29 to 40 weeks of the pregnancy. In this trimester doctors assess the position of the baby and check the unborn heartbeat. And monitor the signs of labor pain.

Antenatal Care Advantages

Antenatal care is important especially for those who are first time becoming parents. This care provide various advantages to the expecting women these benefits are:

Pregnancy Education:- Females learn about pregnancy behaviors, precautions, best advice and warnings as well.
Support:- Get physical, emotional and social support from the best experienced doctors.
Treatments:- Lots of women receive treatment for the pre-existing health problems related to immunity, hypertension, HIV and many more.
Supplements: – Pregnant females get maternal supplements and micro-nutrients that contribute to a healthy pregnancy.

Antenatal Care Components

To provide necessary support and guidance to the mother. There are various components of antenatal care which are significant in monitoring maternal health and the fetus progress. Which are as follows:

1. Assessment & Early Visit

The early visit of antenatal care is done in the first trimester (4-12 weeks of the pregnancy). For complete analysis of the pregnant woman including physical examination, previous medical conditions and variety of tests like brain test etc.

2. Ongoing care and monitoring

The second visit of Antenatal care is to monitor the progress and well-being of the fetus at regular intervals and also identify the concerns and the questions of the pregnant woman.

3. Diagnosis and Screening

Multiple tests like ultrasound, UTI test, various blood tests are performed during the pregnancy period to identify the abnormalities and the diseases which involve infections, gestational diabetes, chromosomal abnormalities etc.

Proper screening and diagnosis is done to prevent the health of mother and unborn and to avoid the abnormalities that could affect the health of the mother and child.

4. Lifestyle changes and Nutrition

A healthy diet and taking prenatal supplements and proper nutrition like vitamin rich vegetables and fruits are advised by the gynecologist to the expecting women.

And also recommended to do certain yoga practices after completing six seven months of the pregnancy. Alcohol and tobacco are restricted from the diet as it can harm the baby’s health.

5. Consultation Education and Support

After a certain period the mother is advised and consulted about how to handle pre and post delivery conditions which includes labor pain, childbirth, postnatal care, newborn care and breastfeeding.

6. Mosquito Nets

On the locations where chances of occurring malaria are high women get insecticide treated mosquito nets to prevent from malaria.

Procedure of Antenatal Care

1. Physical Examination

A Doctor or a gynecologist first checks blood pressure then examines weight gain and overall health including abdominal examination and the position of the baby.