What are antenatal classes?
Antenatal classes help you to prepare physically and emotionally for the birth of your baby. At the classes you can ask questions and explore the different ways in which you can give birth. Antenatal care is the key to healthy mothers and babies and it's very important you attend your appointments.
When do I start having antenatal care?
After confirmation of your pregnancy your doctor will make arrangements for your antenatal care. Most women have their first and longest antenatal check- up between weeks 8 and 12 of pregnancy. The earlier you start attending antenatal check-ups the better. You should then attend antenatal check-ups once a month until 28 weeks, then twice a month until you is 36 weeks pregnant. During the last 4 weeks of your pregnancy you should go every week.
The first visit
Your first visit will be the longest, during which you will be asked many questions. The answers to these questions will help the doctor; discover anything that could affect your pregnancy or your baby.
You may be asked questions on the following:
- The date of your last period so they can estimate when your baby is due.
- You and your partner's medical and family history. This will include any racial origins. This is in case you carry the gene for any inherited blood disorders which may affect your baby.
- If there is a history of twins in either your family or your partner's.
- If you have had any previous pregnancies, this will include miscarriages or abortions .
- If you have any known allergies .
- Whether you are taking any medications for illnesses.
- What serious illnesses or operations you have had in the past.
- You may also be asked about your backgrounds - what your jobs are and about your living accommodation. This is in case there is anything in your circumstances that may affect your pregnancy.
General examination
You will have regular checks on your heart and lungs to make sure your general health is good. Your blood pressure and weight will also be taken at every antenatal visit.
Height check
Your height is a rough guide to the size of your pelvis. If you have a small pelvis you can sometimes have a difficult delivery. If you are over 5ft you are unlikely to have any problems.
Weight check
You will be weighed on your first visit and then your weight gain should be checked regularly.Your weight should increase by 1 ½ kg every month.Initially in the first three months there wont be much weight gain due to vomiting.
Blood tests
Blood samples will be required in your first visit. This blood test will check for:
- What blood group you are. If you are negative group and your husband is positive, then you need to do certain other tests like indirect coombs test.
- Whether you may be anaemic .
- Whether you have any diseases that could harm the baby, such as German measles , syphilis or hepatitis B.
- Whether you have any thyroid dysfunction.
Urine tests
You will be asked to give a urine sample on every visit. The urine will be checked for the following:
- Sugar - this could be a sign of pregnancy diabetes .
- Protein - this may indicate that there is an infection that needs treating .
Dating scan
You will be offered an ultrasound scan called the dating scan between 8 and 9 weeks to estimate when your baby is due. This is known as your estimated due date (EDD). The scan also tells you whether you are expecting more than one baby and viability of the baby is confirmed by the establishment of heart beat.
At each antenatal appointment after your booking visit, your Doctor will measure your blood pressure, and test your urine for infection and the presence of protein. Protein in the urine and raised blood pressure are signs of pre-eclampsia, which can be harmful to both mother and baby. You will be offered another blood test for anaemia and spot test which is screening test to rule out gestational diabetesmellitus at 28 weeks.
As your baby grows, your womb (uterus) rises out of your pelvis and becomes the "bump". The top of this is called the fundus. Your Doctor will measure the height of the fundus to check how your baby is growing.
Your Doctor will ask about your baby's movements and try to find out the position of your baby by feeling your abdomen. Towards the end of your pregnancy, the baby's head usually drops down in the pelvis into a position ready for delivery (when the head is said to be engaged). The head may not engage until labor starts if you have had a baby before.
Your baby's heartbeat will be routinely checked but some women ask to listen to it. Your doctor may put an doppler on your abdomen to make the heartbeat sound louder.
Your doctor will offer tests to look for conditions affecting your baby. These include screening tests and diagnostic tests. It's your choice whether to have any test in pregnancy.
Screening tests estimate the risk of your baby being born with certain conditions, such as Down's syndrome. They don't give a definite answer. Diagnostic tests confirm whether a baby has a certain condition and are offered if the screening tests predict an increased risk of a problem.
Screening for Down's syndrome
Different screening tests for Down's syndrome are done at different stages of pregnancy and may involve blood tests and/or scans. you will be offered one of the following.
At 11 to 14 weeks
nuchal translucency scan alone
combined test (nuchal translucency scan plus blood test for two substances)
At 14 to 20 weeks
triple test
quadruple test
At 11 and 14 weeks and at 14 to 20 weeks
integrated test (nuchal translucency scan and blood test at 11 to 14 weeks plus another blood test at 14 to 20 weeks)
serum integrated test (blood test at 11 to 14 weeks and another blood test at 14 to 20 weeks)
Nuchal translucency scan
This is an ultrasound scan offered between 11 and 13 weeks. It measures the thickness of the layer of fluid at the back of the baby's neck (the nuchal area). A thicker than normal layer of fluid may suggest that the baby has an increased risk of Down's syndrome. If this is the case, you will usually be offered a follow-up scan a few weeks later as this can sometimes indicate that the baby may have Down's syndrome.
Results of Down's syndrome screening
The results of the screening are an estimated chance of your baby having Down's syndrome. You can compare this to the average risk for women your age. For women aged 20, one baby out of every 1,440 born will have Down's syndrome. The risk rises to one baby in 338 for women aged 35, and one baby in 32 for women aged 45.
You will be offered diagnostic tests if, based on the screening test, the estimated chance of your baby having Down's syndrome is higher than one in 250. But the choice about whether to have a diagnostic test is yours. The diagnostic tests are as follows.
Diagnostic tests Amniocentesis
This can test for conditions in the baby such as cystic fibrosis, Down's syndrome, neural tube defects, and metabolic disorders such as phenylketonuria (when the body doesn't produce a particular enzyme, resulting in problems with early brain development).
Chorionic villus sampling (CVS)
This test looks for similar conditions to amniocentesis. Your doctor inserts a fine instrument through your cervix into your womb and removes a tiny sample of your placenta (from a part called the chorionic villi, tiny finger-like projections in the placenta). These have the same genetic material as your baby.
Screening for sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia
Sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia are inherited blood conditions that are most common in people of African-Caribbean and sub-Saharan African origin. Screening for this condition involves a blood test and questions about your family history.
Ultrasound scans
You will be offered an ultrasound scan 18 to 20 weeks into your pregnancy. The scan is to check the fluid that surrounds the baby and to check the baby's head, spine, abdominal organs, arms and legs. Sometimes it may also be possible to check the baby's heart and face.
This scan is called the anomaly scan because it can identify some physical conditions, such as cleft lip or spina bifida. The anomaly scan can't diagnose Down's syndrome.
Scans later in pregnancy
If your pregnancy proceeds normally and your baby's measurements show that growth is good, you don't normally have any further scans during your pregnancy. If your baby is thought to be too large or too small, or if you have risk factors for either of these, then a growth scan might be done at around 30 weeks.
If your anomaly scan suggests that your placenta is lying too low in your womb - a condition known as placenta previa - your doctor may recommend that you have another scan at around 30 weeks to see if this has resolved.
No test can rule out all problems, but by far the majority of babies are healthy.
What is Parent Craft Classes?
Parent craft classes involve the following:
Child Birth Preparation
o Diet Nutrition
o Drugs Medication
o Exercise
o Relaxation
o Common Complaints
Labor Analgesia
o Pain Management
o Epidural Analgesia
o Assisted Deliveries
Post Delivery
o Changes in the body
o Nutrition
o Breast Feeding
o General Body Care
o Common New Born complaints
o Contraception
o Getting back to Shape
