Don’t shy away from prenatal, antenatal care

Women’s right for antenatal care seems to have gone for a toss. According to the latest National Family Health Survey 2015-16 data, only 16.7 percent women in the rural India and around 31.1 percent women in urban India have undergone complete antenatal careduring their last pregnancy.

It is because their husband or family did not think it was necessary or did not allow it. The report highlights the need to sensitise men about women’s rights to heath care.

“Yes, there are cases where women don’t turn for checkup as per the scheduled dates given to them. The woman’s family feels relaxed and keep following the guidelines, which they remember from the first pregnancy. This makes them confident to skip timely checkups, which are mandatory,” shared, doctor, Vimee Bindra. 

It is commonly noticed that the excitement levels of the husband when the wife conceives for the second or third time don’t match up with that of the first. “There are instances where the women alone come for checkup. Sometimes less interest and unavailability of husband also could lead to failure in timely visits for checkup. 

Men and women should be equally educated to enlighten them the need to attend scheduled checkups even during their second or third pregnancy,” she added.“Prenatal pregnancy care is also neglected by many. It is very important to come for checkups before pregnancy too. It helps us to check genetic history, thyroid status, sugar test and prevent neural defects.” 

Sharing her views on the study, Dr. Rajini said, “Every pregnancy is unique and has its own complications. It is not wise to come to a conclusion that every pregnancy will have similar issues and indulge in self-treatment. 

There are chances of occurrence of new problems and alsothe issues that might arise during pregnancy that comes without much time lapse after the first.” 

“The continuous study on the growth of the baby helps the doctor to terminate the pregnancy with the acceptance of women, if the baby has abnormal growth,” she adds.