10 short questions about prenatal care

[The core conclusions are given first]

The following are the 10 most frequent and practical key points of prenatal care summarized by obstetric clinical and senior midwives. The priority of avoiding pitfalls is full:

1. There is no need to deliberately take supplements in early pregnancy. Just take enough folic acid with normal diet.

2. Not all abdominal pain is cause for alarm. Most of the symptoms of no redness/persistent severe pain are normal reactions caused by uterine traction.

3. Don’t collapse because of the high risk of Tang screening. Non-invasive DNA/amniocentesis is the basis for diagnosis. Don’t give up on pregnancy directly.

4. It is not compulsory to sleep on the left side during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable. Don’t force yourself to suffer from insomnia.

5. Pregnant women without signs of threatened abortion/premature delivery can exercise normally, including walking, yoga, and swimming.

6. There is no need to dwell on the details when counting fetal movements. Continuous movements are counted as one. It is normal to count ≥3 times in an hour.

7. If you have edema, don’t drink diuretic remedies. Measure your blood pressure first to rule out preeclampsia. Simply raising your legs can relieve edema.

8. You don’t need to buy a complete set of Internet celebrities’ maternity packages. There are only three core items: ID documents, maternity pads, and newborn NB diapers. You can buy the rest at any time.

9. If the fetal position is incorrect before 32 weeks, there is no need to forcefully adjust it. Most of the fetal position will turn back on its own. If it has not turned around at 36 weeks, follow the doctor’s advice for intervention.

10. You don’t need to rush to the hospital immediately when you see redness. It’s not too late to go there if you have regular uterine contractions (once every 5 minutes, lasting for more than 30 seconds each time) or if your water breaks.

When I was accompanying the obstetrics department, I had seen too many pregnant mothers fall into the pitfalls of stereotyped experiences. The one that impressed me the most was a little girl who was 28 weeks pregnant. She was told by her family members that she had to sleep on her left side. She carried it for half a month. The fluid on her left shoulder was so painful that she couldn't lift it. She was scolded by the doctor during the prenatal check-up. Now the evidence-based obstetrics department has updated its statement: the original intention of sleeping on the left side is to prevent the uterus from compressing the inferior vena cava. If you are out of breath and feel uncomfortable lying on the left side, it is absolutely fine to lie on the right side, or even lie flat for a short period of time. Sleeping well is more important than anything else - of course, if you have the special situation of having the umbilical cord around your neck and a low-lying placenta, you still need to follow the doctor's advice to adjust your sleeping position, and there is no need to apply universal standards.

There is also the internet celebrity maternity package trap. My best friend previously stocked up a box full of special maternity toothbrushes, postpartum shoes with heels, and dozens of disposable underwear. However, she went to a private hospital. The maternity ward provided free maternity pads that met sterilization standards. The one she bought herself was not allowed to be used in the wrong size. In the end, more than half of it was left unused until it expired. Really, in addition to the necessary ID cards, prenatal check-up books, and medical insurance cards, as long as you prepare more than 10 maternity pads (can also be used after giving birth to lochia), a small pack of NB diapers, and if there is anything else missing, let the family go to the maternity and baby store downstairs of the hospital to buy it. It only takes 10 minutes. There is no need to stock up on goods half a year in advance and occupy space.

When it comes to the high risk of Tang screening, it is even more heartbreaking. I met a pregnant mother who had a high risk of Tang screening for trisomy 21: 1:20. She cried at home for three days and said she wanted to abort the child. Later, a non-invasive DNA test showed that the risk was low. Now the baby is in kindergarten and running like no one else. Here are two mainstream treatment options: If you are a high-risk pregnant mother who is over 35 years old and has a family genetic history, doctors will generally recommend direct amniocentesis. The accuracy rate is 99%, and the risk of miscarriage is only about 0.1%. ； If there are no high-risk factors, you can also choose non-invasive DNA first. There is no risk in drawing maternal blood, and the accuracy can reach 98%. The choice depends entirely on personal acceptance, and you don’t have to listen to other people’s nonsense.

Many elderly people tell pregnant mothers to drink less water and drink corn silk water as a diuretic when they see edema. This really depends on the situation: first, you have to go to the hospital to measure blood pressure and urine protein to rule out the pathological risk of preeclampsia. If it is simply physiological edema caused by the uterus compressing the inferior vena cava, you can usually put your legs up on a small stool to raise your legs when sitting, and wear compression stockings. Don't control water blindly, which may easily lead to low amniotic fluid.

Oh, by the way, there are still several fetal movements. Don’t just buy a home fetal heart rate monitor and ignore it. The fetal heart rate is a transient state, and fetal movement is the core indicator that reflects the baby’s long-term oxygen supply. There is no need to get anxious and sit there staring at the baby for half an hour before crying when the baby doesn't move. As long as the general pattern of fetal movements is similar every day, there is no need to worry about the number of fetal movements being exactly the same every day. If the number of fetal movements suddenly doubles or decreases by half than usual, it is not too late to go to the hospital.

In fact, after all, there are really not so many "musts" and "certainties" in prenatal care. Everyone's body is different, and other people's experience may not be useful to you. If you are not sure, asking your own prenatal care doctor is more reliable than watching ten short videos.