Never overlook the importance of antenatal - Pregnant women advised

Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Katherine Attoh Berko has insisted that pregnant women take antenatal care very seriously right from the moment they test positive for pregnancy.

Discussing ’Pre-eclampsia and its management’ with Eunice Tornyi on the African Women’s Voices show which airs on eTV Ghana, she emphasized that bringing another human being into the world is too important a thing to not allow oneself and the baby to be properly taken care of.

“As soon as you test positive or as soon as you miss your period and feel you’re pregnant, go to the hospital, confirm the pregnancy and make sure an ultrasound is done so that we can be sure that the baby is in the correct place. Some people have pregnancies outside the womb and that causes other complications so we need to confirm and date the pregnancy correctly especially for women who don’t really know how their cycle goes”, she urged.

Dr. Katherine listed some tests that are undertaken during pregnancy such as blood group test, blood sugar, checking of stool and urine for proteins or glucose, test for HIV, Hepatitis, blood pressure and many others and these, according to her, are important because they give the hospital a basic background of the patient.

She added that “There are some medications that are given in the course of pregnancy. In Africa, anaemia is a problem so you get to be educated on what to eat and you’re given supplements to take for the care of your baby and yourself. Also, if you’re attending antenatal, we know your base blood pressure so when we realize as you come serially that your blood pressure is now going up, then we can keep an eye on it”.

The doctor advised that as a woman goes through antenatal, she should make it a priority to receive her tetanus injections as well as take preventive medication against malaria.