When Lindi was 7 months pregnant with her first baby, her obstetrician closed down his practice to move overseas. This was extremely inconvenient and nerve racking for Lindi who didn’t have any record of her care over the last months. She couldn’t recall what her vital sign readings said, what her lab results were and what some of her scans have looked like. She wished that she had her own copy of her records.
If you are pregnant, here’s what you should tracking:
Blood pressure
Your blood pressure readings provide a guide of how well your pregnancy has been progressing going. High Blood pressure can indicate signs of a potentially serious complication called preeclampsia, which causes the flow of blood through the placenta to be reduced. This means that your baby won’t get enough oxygen and nutrients, which may restrict his growth.
Weight
While it’s fine for pregnant women to lose or gain weight, it needs to be within a healthy range. Having an idea of where your weight is, will alert you if there is any need for concern, especially if there are suddenly changes. Rapid weight gain, which is defined as gaining one or two kilos a week, can be a key sign of pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes. Extreme weight loss which can be a result of extreme morning sickness or nausea could lead to hyperemesis, putting you and your baby at risks for dehydration and malnutrition.
Urine
Elevated levels of sugar could be an indicator of gestational diabetes and would require further investigation. Excess protein in urine can signify a urinary tract infection (UTI), kidney damage, or certain other disorders. If you’re suffering from severe nausea and vomiting or you’ve lost weight, your practitioner may check your urine for ketone (these are acids made when your body begins using fat instead of carbohydrates for energy). If your ketone reading high and are found in combination with sugar, it could be a sign of diabetes.
Blood tests
Doctors check your blood type so that a potential mix-up of bloods can be averted if there is a need for a transfusion. Your blood work also reveals if you are Rh negative. Most pregnant women who are Rh negative need treatment to protect the fetus from getting a blood disease that can lead to anemia.
Lab results
Infections such as toxoplasmosis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including hepatitis B, syphilis, chlamydia and HIV. Infection in pregnancy has been linked to premature rupture of the membranes surrounding the baby in the uterus, preterm birth, and low birth weight infants.
If you’re healthy and there are no complicating risk factors, most health care providers will want to see you every 4 weeks until the 28th week of pregnancy.
Prenatal scans
These scans can be used to check the general health and growth of your baby and the how your placenta is working. Scans are available in 2D, 3D and 4D, and you can have the scans as print outs as well as the moving 4D scans on DVD. Upload your scans into your CenHealth account as back up and to keep them safe.
| Use the Maternity Care section of CenHealth to track the progression of your pregnancy, and keep all your data in one place. Start today for free. |
