[9] Antenatal Care - Normal Pregnancy Flashcards
What is preconceptual care?
An opportunity for the mother to improve their health before they start trying for a baby
What should all women ideally do before conceiving?
Present to their GP for pre-pregnancy care and counselling
What can a GP do for a woman prior to conception?
Undertake screening tests and provide advice regarding conception and early pregnancy care
What should be assessed in a woman prior to conception in order to maximise preconceptual care?
- Plans for timing of pregnancy
- Previous obstetric history
- Dietary habits and BMI
- Use of folic acid
- Cervical smear status
- Smoking status
- Amount of alcohol consumed
- Use of illicit drugs and hep B risk
- Vaccination status
- Use of medications
- Chronic health problems
Why is previous obstetric history important when counselling a woman looking to conceive?
- Inter-pregnancy interval may affect perinatal outcomes
- Previous complications may need to be considered
- Timing of pregnancy attempt after previous miscarriage
What inter-pregnancy interval has been shown to be safer in terms of perinatal outcomes?
18-59 months
What will a decision to try again after miscarriage be influenced by?
- When woman and partner feel ready
- Speed of recovery
- Pending test results or follow up of surgery, ectopic or molar pregnancy
What advice should be given to women prior to conception regarding diet and BMI?
- Health, balanced diet
- Attain and maintain healthy weight
Why is attaining and maintaining a healthy weight prior to pregnancy important?
It reduces the risk of pregnancy complications
What are the risks of being obese during pregnancy and conception?
- Reduced fertility
- Increased risk of miscarriage
- Gestational diabetes
- Gestational hypertension/pre-eclampsia
- Macrosomia and shoulder dystocia
- Preterm delivery
- Birth trauma
- Caesarean delivery
- Post-partum complications
- Congenital anomalies
What post-partum complications are more likely in obese mothers?
- Haemorrhage
- Thrombosis
- Infection
What congenital anomalies are more likely in babies of obese mothers?
- Neural tube defects
- CVS abnormalities
- Cleft palate
- Limb reduction
- Anorectal atresia
- Hydrocephaly
What are the risks of being underweight in conception and pregnancy?
- Reduced fertility
- First trimester miscarriage
- Pre-term birth
- Low birth weight
- Gastroschisis
When assessing a hopeful mothers use of folic acid what should be considered?
The dose being taken in relation to her risk of neural tube defects
What is the recommended dose and regime of folic acid for all women?
400 μg daily for at least 1 month pre- and 3 months post-conception
What is folic acid used for?
Reducing the incidence of neural tube defects
If patients are considered a higher risk for neural tube defects what dose of folic acid is used?
5mg daily
What might make a woman high risk for neural tube defects?
- Those on anti-epileptics
- Obese women
- Diabetic women
- Women with history of neural tube defects
Why is checking cervical smear status important in the pre-conceptual history?
To undertake routine cervical cytology if due
What advice should women wanting to get pregnant be given regarding smoking?
Stop smoking and initially try to do so without nicotine replacement
Where can a patient who smokes before conception be referred if needed?
Smoking cessation services
What vaccinations may be needed in women looking to get pregnant (if not already)?
- Rubella
- Varicella
- Pertussis
What might a patient need if history of vaccinations and associated infections is uncertain?
Serology
What are women who require vaccines prior to conceiving advised to do?
Defer conception for 28 days after
Why should women defer conception for 28 days after vaccination?
Live attenuated viral vaccines can be dangerous to foetus
Why are seasonal influenza vaccines recommended in pregnant women?
There is increased risk of serious morbidity in pregnancy in flu
Use of what types of medications should be considered when taking a pre-conceptual history?
- Prescription medications
- OTC medicines
- Herbal medicines
What chronic health problems should be considered in a pre-conceptual history?
- Mental health issues
- Epilepsy
- DM
- Thyroid disease
- Chronic hypertension
- Chronic cardiac disease
- Renal disease
- Asthma
- Previous thromboembolism
- Rheumatological conditions
- IBD
- Haemoglobinopathies
What lifestyle factors should be considered when pregnant?
- Alcohol cessation
- Exercise
- Foods
- Medicines and complementary therapy use
- Nutritional supplements
- Work
- Travel
What advise should pregnant women be given regarding exercise?
- Moderate exercise is not associated with adverse outcomes
- Some activities can be dangerous
- Sexual intercourse is not associated with adverse outcomes
What physical activities can be dangerous during pregnancy?
- Contact sports
- High impact sports
- Vigorous racquet sports
- Scuba diving
What effect can scuba diving have on the fetus?
May cause fetal birth defects and fetal decompression disease
What conditions are important to avoid during pregnancy in terms of food consumption?
- Listeriosis
- Salmonella
How can the risk of listeriosis be reduced in pregnancy?
- Only drink pasteurised or UHT milk
- Don’t eat ripened soft cheese
- Don’t eat pâté
- Don’t eat uncooked or under-cooked ready meals
How can the risk of salmonella be reduced?
- Avoid raw or partially cooked eggs or food that contains them e.g. mayonnaise
- Avoid raw or partially cooked meat especially poultry
What is true of medicines (including prescription, OTC and complimentary therapies) in pregnancy?
Few have been established to be safe and should be taken as little as possible
When are medicines generally considered ok to use in pregnancy despite risks?
When the benefit outweighs the risk
What nutritional supplements are routinely advised in pregnancy?
- Folic acid
- Vitamin D
What is the dose of vitamin D supplement in pregnancy?
10mg/day
Why is vitamin D supplement important in pregnancy?
Improves maternal health and baby’s health in pregnancy and breastfeeding
Who is particularly helped by vitamin D supplement in pregnancy?
Women with darker skin
What supplement is not offered routinely in pregnancy?
Iron
What supplement can be teratogenic and should be avoided?
Vitamin A
What should women be informed of with regards to work in pregnancy?
Their maternity rights and benefits
Why is an occupation history important in pregnancy?
To identify women with high occupational risk
What is important to inform pregnant women with regards to travel?
Seatbelt should go above and below the bump
What are the important aspects of previous obstetric history in pregnancy?
- Number of all previous pregnancies
- Duration of previous gestations
- Previous antenatal complications
- Details of induction of labour
- Duration of labour
- Presentation and methods of delivery
- Birth weight and gender of each infant
- Mode of delivery
- Conditions of each infant at birth and need for care in a special baby unit
- Complications of puerperium
What should be included in number of pregnancies in an obstetric history?
- Miscarriages
- Terminations
What are the types of modes of delivery?
- Spontaneous
- Assisted
- Caesarean sections
What are some possible complications of puerperium?
- Post-Partum haemorrhage
- Extensive perineal trauma or wound breakdown
- Infections of genital tract
- DVT
- Difficulties with breastfeeding
What types of medications should be listed and given to doctor/midwife?
- Prescription medications
- OTC
- Nutritional supplements
- Herbal remedies
What other forms of substance use should be reported by the patient in pregnancy?
- Smoking
- Drinking
- Use of illegal drugs
In what ways can medications and other substances harm the foetus?
- Interfere with normal development
- Damage baby’s organs
- Damage the placenta
- Increase the risk of miscarriage
- Bring on premature labour
What can affect the harm medications and other substances can have on a foetus?
- Type taken
- How taken
- Size of dose
- How often taken
- Whether used alone or in combination
- Individual response of the baby
- Gestational age of baby
- Maternal health and diet
Give some examples of medications that can cause birth defects in the developing foetus?
- ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II antagonists
- Isotretinoin
- Lithium
- Some antibiotics
- Some anti-epileptics
- Some chemotherapies
- Some thyroid medications
- Warfarin
What antibiotics are not safe in pregnancy?
- Aminoglycosides
- Chloramphenicol
- Co-trimoxazole
- Tetracyclines
What effect can aminoglycosides have in pregnancy?
Risk of fetal ototoxicity
What effect can co-trimoxazole have in pregnancy?
May displace bilirubin and cause kernicterus in the foetus
What effect can tetracyclines have on a developing foetus?
Dental discolouration
What antibiotics are thought to be safe in pregnancy?
- Erythromycin
- Penicillins
- Metronidazole
- Cephalosporins
What are the risks of warfarin in pregnancy?
- Congenital malformations
- Placental, fetal or neonatal haemorrhage especially in last few weeks of pregnancy and delivery
What are the periods of pregnancy in which warfarin use should be particularly avoided?
1st and 3rd trimester
When is it difficult to stop warfarin in pregnancy?
In women with prosthetic heart valves, AF or recurrent VTE or PE
What analgesic is generally advised to be avoided in pregnancy?
Ibuprofen
When should ibuprofen be only taken in benefits outweigh the risks in pregnancy?
Before 30 weeks