Importance of Focused Antenatal Care (FANC) to pregnant Mothers
Importance of Focused Antenatal Care (FANC) to pregnant Mothers-The Antenatal care is a widely used strategy to improve the health of pregnant women and to encourage skilled care during childbirth. ANC is the general health care given to a pregnant woman to promote and maintain the optimal health of the mother throughout pregnancy, labour, and puerperium.
The model emphasizes on frequent visits and classified women into high risk and low-risk groups. It assumes that frequent visits and classifying pregnant women into high and low-risk groups by predicting the complications ahead of time are the best way to care for the mother and fetus.
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This traditional approach has been replaced by Focused Antenatal Care (FANC), which is a goal-oriented antenatal care approach by the World Health Organization (WHO) 2002.
Focused Antenatal Care (FANC) is an approach to Antenatal care that emphasizes evidenced-based goal-directed actions, individualized, women-centered, quality of visits, care by a skilled provider.
FANC is one of the pillars of safe motherhood that aims to;
1. Promote the health of mothers and their babies through targeted assessments of pregnant women facilitate
- Identification and treatment of already established disease
- Early detection of complications and other potential problems that can affect the outcome of pregnancy.
- Prophylaxis and treatment of problems such as anemia, malaria, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS, urinary tract infections and tetanus.
2. Give holistic individualized care to each woman to help m, maintain the normal progress of her pregnancy through timely guidance and advice on;
- Birth preparedness
- Nutrition, immunization, personal hygiene, and family planning.
- Counseling on danger symptoms that require prompt medical treatment and management.
However, or ANC to be effective in reducing maternal and perinatal mortality, it must be goal-oriented and focused on “screening to detect a problem and on treating any problem that can complicate pregnancy.
Aims and Objectives of Focused Antenatal Care (FANC)
Its goals to promote maternal and newborn health and survival through;
- Early detection and treatment of problems and complications
- Prevention of complications and diseases
- Birth preparedness and complication readiness
- Health promotion
Timing of Focused Antenatal Care (FANC)
♠ 1st visit: by 12-16 weeks of pregnancy or when a woman first thinks she is pregnant
♠ 2nd Visit: At 20-24 weeks or at least once in the second trimester
♠ 3rd Visit: Visit at 28-32 weeks
♠ 4th Visit: At 36-40 weeks
Other should be when complications arise, follow up on referral is needed, women want to see a health provider fora a complain, health provider changes frequency based on findings (history, testing, exam) or local policy.
Importance of Focused Antenatal Care (FANC) to pregnant Mothers
- It reduces maternal and perinatal death rates and miscarriages as well as birth
- defects, birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, and other preventable problems.
- Early detection and treatment of complications
It helps pregnant women to be medically informed over maternal physiological changes and prenatal nutrition including prenatal vitamins.
Key Behaviour Change Messages for Pregnant Women
♦ Every Pregnancy is at risk, visit your health care provider if you suspect that you are pregnant.
♦ Go for antenatal care during pregnancy to detect and treat problems
♦ If you are having any health problems during pregnancy, don’t hesitate to see a doctor or midwife.
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