 A doctor performs a prenatal exam. Prenatal care refers to the medical care recommended for women before and during pregnancy. The aim of good prenatal care is to detect any potential problems early, to prevent them if possible (through recommendations on adequate nutrition, exercise, vitamin intake etc), and to direct the woman to appropriate specialists, hospitals, etc. if necessary. The availability of routine prenatal care has played a part in reducing maternal death rates and miscarriages as well as birth defects, low birth weight, and other preventable infant problems in the developed world[citation needed]. Image File history File links Hoact21. ...
Image File history File links Hoact21. ...
The term trimester redirects here. ...
Maternal death,or maternal mortality, also obstetric death is the death of a woman in relation to a pregnancy. ...
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the natural or accidental termination of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or the fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined at a gestation of prior to 20 weeks. ...
A congenital disorder is a medical condition or defect that is present at or before birth (for example, congenital heart disease). ...
Low birth weight is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a fetus who is delivered to a reproductive female at the end of a pregnancy at a weight of < 2500 grams (WHO, 1969). ...
A developed country is a country that has achieved (currently or historically) a high degree of industrialization, and which enjoys the higher standards of living which wealth and technology make possible. ...
While availability of prenatal care has considerable personal health and social benefits, socioeconomic problems prevent its universal adoption in many developed as well as developing nations.
Studies in Canada and the United States have shown that communities in rural areas as well as minorities are less likely to have available prenatal care and also have higher rates of infant mortality and miscarriage. The international levels of infant mortality, depicted as the number of deaths in a thousand births. ...
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the natural or accidental termination of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or the fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined at a gestation of prior to 20 weeks. ...
One prenatal practice is for the expecting mother to consume vitamins with at least 400 mcg of folic acid to help prevent neural tube defects.
Prenatal care generally consists of:
- monthly visits during the first two trimesters (from week 1-28)
- biweekly from 28 to week 36 of pregnancy
- weekly after week 36 (delivery at week 38-40)
The human gestation period of approximately 40 weeks between the time of the last menstrual cycle and delivery is traditionally divided into three periods of three months, or trimesters. ...
Physical examinations Physical examinations generally consist of: - collection of (mother's) medical history
- checking (mother's) blood pressure
- (mother's) height and weight
- pelvic exam
- (mother's) blood and urine tests
- discussion with caregiver
Ultrasound Obstetric ultrasounds are most commonly performed during the second trimester at approximately week 20. Ultrasounds are considered relatively safe and have been used for over 35 years for monitoring pregnancy. Obstetric ultrasonograph of a fetus at 16 weeks. ...
Among other things, ultrasounds are used to:
- Diagnose pregnancy (uncommon)
- Check for multiple fetuses
- Determine the sex of the fetus
- Assess possible risks to the mother (e.g., miscarriage, blighted ovum, ectopic pregnancy, or a molar pregnancy condition)
- Check for fetal malformation (e.g., club foot, spina bifida, cleft palate, clenched fists)
- Determine if an intrauterine growth retardation condition exists
- Note the development of fetal body parts (e.g., heart, brain, liver, stomach, skull, other bones)
- Check the amniotic fluid and umbilical cord for possible problems
- Determine due date (based on measurements and relative developmental progress)
Generally an Ultrasound is ordered whenever an abnormality is suspected or along a schedule similar to the following: Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the natural or accidental termination of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or the fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined at a gestation of prior to 20 weeks. ...
An anembryonic gestation (aka blighted ovum) is a pregnancy in which a visible embryo never develops within a normal-appearing gestational sac, which likely occurs as a result of early embryonic death with continued development of the trophoblast. ...
Molar pregnancy, sometimes simply referred as mole is a rare abnormal medical condition, a complication of pregnancy inside the category of gestational trophoblastic diseases. ...
Club foot. ...
Intrauterine growth retardation or Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) refers to the condition during pregnancy where a fetus is considered to be too small for its gestational age (generally in the 10th percentile). ...
The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ...
For more specific information about the human brain, see its main article at human brain A sketch of the human brain by artist Priyan Weerappuli, imposed upon his sketch of the profile of Michaelangelos David In animals, the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control...
The liver is an organ in some animals, including vertebrates (and therefore humans). ...
It has been suggested that some sections of this article be split into a new article entitled Human stomach. ...
It has been suggested that temporal fenestra be merged into this article or section. ...
Grays Anatomy illustration of a human femur. ...
The amniotic sac is a tough but thin transparent pair of membranes which holds a developing embryo (and later fetus) until shortly before birth. ...
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is a tube that connects a developing embryo or fetus to its placenta. ...
- 7 weeks - confirm pregnancy, ensure its neither molar or ectopic, determine due date
- 13-14 weeks (some areas) - evaluate the possibility of Down Syndrome
- 18-20 weeks - see the expanded list above
- 34 weeks (some areas) - evaluate size, verify placental position
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