Prenatal care is a program of medical care provided to ensure the best care for the pregnant woman and her unborn child. The goal of prenatal care is to prepare the expectant mother for the healthy delivery of her baby. Proper prenatal care also aims to reduce the chance of health risk for both the mother and her baby. Pregnant women who regularly seek prenatal care have healthier babies, are less prone to complications, are less likely to deliver prematurely, and are easier to return to normal life following pregnancy.
A prenatal visit usually includes blood pressure and weight monitoring, examination of the uterus and abdomen for the proper growth of the fetus, physical examination, and fetal heart rate monitoring. The State of Virginia offers several maternal health services to ensure the health and safety of the pregnant woman and her baby. The state offers the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan (FAMIS) MOMS program for pregnant women.
The program “encourages pregnant women to get early and regular prenatal care to increase the likelihood for a healthy birth outcome” (FAMIS MOMS, n. d. ). Pregnant women who are enrolled in the program get comprehensive health care benefits during the pregnancy and two months after the pregnancy. Under the Department of Health, Division of Women’s and Infants’ Health, the state also offers the BabyCare program which provides support to pregnant women through intensive case management and coordination of care. For adolescent pregnancy, the state offers the Resource Mothers Program.
In this program, community health workers offer counseling to pregnant teenagers to guide and help them make the transition to parenthood. Another program offered by the state is the Regional Perinatal Councils (RPCs) which are a network of public/private partnerships. RPCs aim to assess the needs of women and infants and improve perinatal health care by conducting Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Program (FIMR) in their regions.
Reference
FAMIS MOMS (n. d. ). Retrieved May 12, 2009, from http://www. famis. org/moms. cfm? lang=English