Antenatal Care
Antenatal care is provided to you during pregnancy to help improve your maternal wellbeing, and ensure you can prepare for a safe birth.
By detecting and managing any health issues during pregnancy, antenatal care can improve the health of your unborn baby and reduce the risk of low birth weight and other more serious issues.
The aim of antenatal care is to provide positive pregnancy experience that allows a positive transition to birth and motherhood.
What happens during antenatal care?
Antenatal care takes place across at least 8 spaced clinic visits for non-complicated pregnancies:
- Visit 1 in the first trimester
- Visits 2&3 in the second trimester
- Visits 4-8 in the third trimester
finishing close to your due date.
During your first antenatal care session, you’ll have a pregnancy test to confirm that you are pregnant, and we’ll estimate your expected date of delivery.
We will discuss your medical history and you’ll have a clinical examination to assess your general health and examine your pregnancy. This will help us to determine whether your pregnancy might be high risk or not, and ensure we can work with you to develop a suitable birth plan.
A number of tests and immunizations will be done such as blood tests and preventative treatment for malaria. You can rest assured that any care you receive will be tailored to suit your needs.
Antenatal care can include such things as:
- Your medical history and any pre-existing maternal medical conditions
- Discussions around pregnancy complications
- Lab testing
- Ultrasound scans
- Steps towards healthy lifestyles
We’ll also give you information to help you prepare for birth and beyond. You will receive information about:
- Delivery in a healthcare facility
- Healthy behaviours.
- Newborn care
- Breastfeeding
- Postnatal care
- Planning for child spacing.
What happens after antenatal care?
At the end of your antenatal sessions, when your baby’s due date is near, we’ll review your birth plan and go through key information about the facility you’ve chosen to deliver from.
