WHO
doubles recommended number of health visits during
pregnancy
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[November 08, 2016]
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health
Organization revised guidelines on antenatal care on Monday, saying
pregnant women should have twice as many contacts with health providers
- eight - as it recommended previously.
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More antenatal contacts help to reduce the chance of stillbirths,
with 8 fewer perinatal deaths per 1,000 births, the WHO said in a
statement.
Last year about 303,000 women globally died from pregnancy related
causes, 2.7 million babies died in their first 28 days of life and
2.6 million were stillborn. Only 64 percent of women received
antenatal care four or more times during their pregnancy.
The new WHO guidelines include 49 recommendations touching on diet,
physical activity, tobacco, malaria, blood tests, tetanus
vaccinations and the use of ultrasound. There is also advice on
problems such as nausea, back pain and constipation.
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The recommendations include taking 30-60 milligrams of iron
supplements and 0.4 mg folic acid daily during pregnancy.
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“More and better quality contacts between all women and their health
providers throughout pregnancy will facilitate the uptake of
preventive measures, timely detection of risks, reduces
complications and addresses health inequalities,” WHO's head of
maternal health, Anthony Costello, said in a statement.
(Reporting by Tom Miles; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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