Pregnancy care critical for health

It is important for pregnant women to get antenatal care as soon as possible but definitely before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Early pregnancy care reduces maternal and infant mortality and prevents the transmission of HIV and other illnesses from mothers to their babies. To kick-off Pregnancy Awareness Week (3-7 February), we look at what care women can expect at their first pregnancy care (antenatal) visit and why it is critical for health.

In South Africa, a pregnant woman can get free medical treatment at any public health facility. This has helped us to get nearly universal uptake (>95%) of HIV testing during pregnancy and reduce vertical transmission (the transmission of HIV from mother to child) to under 5%.

At the first visit, the clinic will:

• Take a medical history and do a physical examination.

• Do a pregnancy test. They may also do an ultrasound (a scan which can see the baby inside), depending on how far along the pregnancy is.

• Do an HIV test. This is to make sure that, if the woman is HIV positive, they get onto care immediately to prevent passing HIV to the baby while pregnant and breastfeeding. Pregnant women who are living with HIV and who are successfully on treatment will not pass HIV on to their babies.

• Test for syphilis. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like syphilis can be harmful to unborn babies or may cause the baby to be born with diseases. Syphilis is curable so if the test is positive for this, the woman will be given treatment which will make them better and prevent harm to the baby.

• Check blood pressure and test urine (pee). This is to check for serious diseases that can happen in pregnancy called pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure) and gestational diabetes (high sugar).

• Do a blood test to check blood group and to make sure the woman is not anaemic (low iron). Anaemia is common in pregnancy and can make pregnant women feel very tired and dizzy. It can also cause complications with the pregnancy. Women with anaemia will be given iron tablets to take.

• Give vitamin pills (especially folic acid) to keep mother and baby healthy. Folic acid (also known as Vitamin B9) is a safe supplement that prevents babies from being born with a defect called spina bifida.

If you are pregnant, you can get lots of helpful information on pregnancy and your baby from MomConnect, which is a free SMS service, just dial 134550#

NACOSA provides advice, support and community-based services to pregnant young women through the My Journey Adolescents and Young People programme. Support our work and help us save young lives.