Prenatal care

Prenatal care, also known as antenatal care, is a type of preventive healthcare for pregnant women. It is provided in the form of medical checkups and healthy lifestyle recommendations for the pregnant person. Antenatal care also consists of educating the pregnant woman or girl about maternal physiological and biological changes in pregnancy, along with prenatal nutrition, all of which prevent potential health problems throughout the pregnancy and promote good health for the parent and the fetus. The availability of routine prenatal care, including prenatal screening and diagnosis, has played a part in reducing the frequency of maternal death, miscarriages, birth defects, low birth weight, neonatal infections, and other preventable health problems.