Antenatal Care and Screening Flashcards
What fraction of pregnancies are unplanned?
1/3
What is the incidence of maternal mortality?
9/100000
What are the most common causes of maternal death?
- Heart disease
- Blood clots
- Epilepsy and stroke
What is covered in pre-pregnancy counselling?
- General health measures
- Improve diet
- Optimise BMI
- Reduce alcohol consumption
- Smoking cessation
- Folic acid
- Up to date cervical smear
- Medical history
- Optimise known medical problems
- Stop/change unsuitable drugs
- Occasionally advice against pregnancy
- Significant cardiac disease
- Previous pregnancy problems
- Maternal
- Pre-eclampsia – aspirin 150mg during pregnancy and regular BP monitoring
- Gestational diabetes – HbA1C booking and OGTT at 28 weeks
- Previous caesarean section – consider elective caesarean section
- DVT or PE – consider antenatal thromboprophylaxis and 6 weeks postnatal treatment
- Foetal
- Intrauterine growth restriction – aspirin 150mg during pregnancy and serial USS
- Preterm birth – transvaginal cervical length scans or cervical suture
- Maternal
What are some previous medical problems that need discussed at pre-pregnancy counselling?
- Maternal
- Pre-eclampsia – aspirin 150mg during pregnancy and regular BP monitoring
- Gestational diabetes – HbA1C booking and OGTT at 28 weeks
- Previous caesarean section – consider elective caesarean section
- DVT or PE – consider antenatal thromboprophylaxis and 6 weeks postnatal treatment
- Foetal
- Intrauterine growth restriction – aspirin 150mg during pregnancy and serial USS
- Preterm birth – transvaginal cervical length scans or cervical suture
What does antenatal examination involve?
- Abdominal palpation
- Assess symphyseal fundal height (SFH)
- Estimate size of baby
- Estimate liquor volume
- Determine foetal presentation
- Listen to foetal heart
What does abdominal palpating when pregnant allow?
- Assess symphyseal fundal height (SFH)
- Estimate size of baby
- Estimate liquor volume
- Determine foetal presentation
What does SFH stand for?
Symphyseal fundal height
What are examples of antenatal screening offered to woman?
-
Screening for infection (carried out in 1st trimester)
- Hep B
- Syphilis
- HIV
- Maternal treatment and planning reduces vertical transmission
- MSSU
- UTI
-
Anaemia and isoimmunisation (1st trimester and at 28 weeks)
- Isoimmunisation is high levels of certain red cell antibodies that can cause anaemia in the foetus
-
Anomalies by USS
- Ensure pregnancy is viable and identify abnormalities incompatible with life
- First scan carried out between 11 and 14 weeks
- Second scan in 2nd trimester
-
Chromosomal abnormalities
- 1st trimester screening
- Carried out at 10-14 weeks
- Uses maternal factors, serum B-human chorionic gonadotrophin (B-hCG) and pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) and foetal nuchal translucency (NT) measurement
- 2nd trimester screening
- Sometimes NT measurement not possible due to foetal position or maternal BMI
- Checks for down syndrome (trisomy 21), Edward’s syndrome (trisomy 18) and Patau’s syndrome (trisomy 13)
- 1st trimester screening
Screening for what infections is carried out?
- Hep B
- Syphilis
- HIV
- Maternal treatment and planning reduces vertical transmission
- MSSU
- UTI
Why are anomilies checked for with USS?
When do these scans occur?
- Ensure pregnancy is viable and identify abnormalities incompatible with life
- First scan carried out between 11 and 14 weeks
- Second scan in 2nd trimester
What chromosomal abnormalities are checked for?
- Checks for down syndrome (trisomy 21), Edward’s syndrome (trisomy 18) and Patau’s syndrome (trisomy 13)
How are chromosomal abnormalities checked for during screening?
- Uses maternal factors, serum B-human chorionic gonadotrophin (B-hCG) and pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) and foetal nuchal translucency (NT) measurement
- Higher B-hCG and lower PAPP-A indicates a greater risk.
When would NT measurements not be possible?
Due to foetal position or maternal BMI
What does NT measurement stand up for?
Nuchal translucency measurement