Children are the future of any nation. But while taking care of the unborn, the health and wellbeing of the mother often skips the mind of people, especially in location with minimum exposure to maternity care. Several women suffer infection, miscarriage and even death. To address this problem Maternity Hospitals are making an effort to provide the best prenatal care along with childbirth assistance.

What must be done?

Since prenatal care is the most important aspect of maternal health, it is advised to receive atleast a minimum of four visits on antenatal care. The prenatal care centers provide basic and primary information related to pregnancy, such as any possible infection, ideal weight or anemia along with monitoring the growth of the fetus. It also includes a detailed information regarding the hygiene and nutrition to help them sustain a safe pregnancy along with the necessary guidelines to follow in case any emergency arises.

Since the baby’s nutrition is solely based on the nutrition received by the mother, nutrition and care of the mother is the most important factor. Thus, nutrition such as vitamins, minerals and proteins must be provided in adequate amount.

What must be avoided?

Over the counter medications, especially painkillers can cause more harm than relief in a long run. Smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking drugs during pregnancy can cause some serious damage to the growing embryo. The babies born with such history often have low birth weight.

By looking at the statistics of obesity in India, it might not sound like some major threat, but it can cause physical and emotional abnormalities such as defective limbs, heart, and face along with sudden infant death, neonatal death and intellectual disability.

What must be watched out for?

The most common issue related to maternity is gestational diabetes. It is advised to get constant supervision and medication for the same from a reliable Maternity Hospitals. Ignorance can cause the baby to develop diabetes Type 2 from an early age.

Another threat that a baby is exposed during pregnancy is the infection of HIV/AIDS. In case the mother is HIV positive, much care and caution is needed to avert the worst case scenario of the baby getting infected as well.

Any maternal stress experienced by the mother can cause direct and indirect damage to the baby and thus the close friends and relative should take extra caution for the same.