For the formation and growth of the baby, a woman’s metabolism during pregnancy must provide more nutrients and energy than she needs for herself. You need to metabolize food efficiently and quickly. This extra effort can lead the pregnant woman to metabolic imbalances such as gestational diabetes.
With pregnancy, the enlarged uterus and placental circulation require an extra volume of blood, which can be up to one liter. To produce this extra amount of blood, the pregnant woman uses iron, folic acid and other nutrients, seriously depleting her iron reserves. The heart must also be strengthened to do the more demanding work of moving more blood.
During pregnancy, a woman’s defense system adapts to tolerate the presence of a foreign organism within her. This can cause it to be more susceptible to attack by bacteria and viruses.
For these considerations, it is advisable to have a medical examination to start pregnancy in optimal physical conditions and with the necessary vaccines already applied.
Among the general recommendations are:
- A general medical check-up (management and control of situations such as obesity, poor nutrition, diabetes)
- An oral health checkup with your dentist
- Laboratory tests: blood count, blood classification, VDRL, HIV, urine cytochemistry (correct problems of anemia and genitourinary infections)
- Start supplementation with folic acid (reduces neural tube malformations) and iron if necessary.
- Update vaccines. Especially rubella and tetanus.
If more than 1 year goes by without achieving pregnancy, consult a specialist. If the woman is over 35 years old, consult after 6 months of unsuccessful searching.
The vast majority of pregnancies come to term happily with adequate prenatal care.
InSer Group
