National Safe Motherhood Day is observed on April 11 every year. It is an initiative of the White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI). The government of India in 2003 had declared the National Safe Motherhood Day on April 11. It is observed to enforce that women must have the availability and adequate access to care during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal services.
Dr. Nupur Gupta, Director, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, shares few important tips to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy:
1. Prepregnancy Checkup & Counselling: Regular Antenatal Checkups must be a norm to identify pregnancy-related/induced complications like hypertension, diabetes, growth restriction, or low birth weight babies.
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2. Routine vaccinations and immunizations as advised: two doses of tetanus toxoid, flu shot, and diphtheria/ pertussis to protect mother and newborn post-delivery
3. Antenatal or Childbirth Classes can make you empowered in many ways and help you cope better.
4. Making a Birth Plan helps to reduce anxiety and improves the doctor-patient relationship.
5. Regular exercise helps to not only improve physical health but also mental health, avoids constipation, ensures good sleep, and avoids excessive weight gain.
6. Breastfeeding and Newborn Care session prior to delivery has been shown to reduce anxiety and feeding issues post-delivery.
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7. Mode of Delivery shouldn’t be a matter of concern. It can be operative (Caesarean) or natural (Normal) or instrumental and the decision can change during childbirth based on the course of onset or progress of labour.
8. Last but not least, BE FEARLESS