Prenatal Care

The Prenatal Care is the monitoring of the normal development of pregnancy implementing systematized strategies for early detection of complications and timely treatment of them.
Routine Prenatal Care in a non-high-risk pregnancy should include at least 5 prenatal visits.
At the first prenatal visit, a complete medical history must be obtained, as well as a relevant physical examination. Gestational age and the probable date of delivery should be established.

Basic prenatal care studies (which may vary depending on the case) include:

• Ultrasound of the first trimester
• Complete blood count
• Blood Type (Group & Rh)
• Coagulation times
• VDRL, HIV (screening or screening studies for syphilis or AIDS)
• Papanicolaou updated
• Cervical cultures

For patients with risk factors for congenital malformations, the prenatal battery is complemented with:

• US with nuchal translucency – 11-13SDG
• Serum markers: PAPP-A (in the first trimester)
• Quadruple screen: PAPP-A + bHCG, E2, AFP, Inhibin (2nd trimester)
• PAPP-A = Plasma Protein Associated with Pregnancy
• bHCG = Chorionic Gonadotropin Human beta fraction
• E2 = Estrogen
• AFP = Alpha-FetoProtein

The combination of these studies offers a detection rate of around 90%. The final diagnosis will have to be corroborated with other methods (chorionic villus biopsy, aminocentesis, cordocentesis, karyotype, etc.).

If the patient has a pre-pregnancy illness, the corresponding studies will be done in addition to the basic prenatal battery. It should also include a greater number of queries more frequently depending on the complexity of the case.

The following tentatively scheduled prenatal visits would be at:

• 18-24SDG – To rule out major malformations using a 3D / 4D Structural Anatomic ultrasound evaluation (by a staff with special training for this type of ultrasound), Doppler evaluation of Uterine Arteries and the measurement of Cervical Length.
• 24-28SDG – Glucose Tolerance Curve Test. To rule out the development of Gestational Diabetes.

Indirect COOMBS test for mothers with blood type O (-).

• 28-30SDG – Application of anti-D prophylactic RhoGAM to mothers with blood type O (-).
• 34-37SDG – Vaginal culture to rule out infection in the birth canal.
• 37-40SDG – Last control visits with Ultrasound of the third quarter.

In our Prenatal Care Department, we carry out a meticulous monitoring of the pregnancy from the first weeks until the moment of the birth of delivery or cesarean section. Request an appointment with our specialists.