Prenatal Care Thesis

There are many things in life are great gifts, and being a parent is one. Getting the news that you are expecting a child is a speechless moment. It is a very joyful occasion and everyone is happy about what to expect over the next nine months. Baby names start flowing and in every magazine you are looking at outfits and furniture and things of that nature. But has anyone stop to think about what is cost to have this baby? What medical expenses that will be incurred during this forty weeks process. The answer is no. No one probably really cares but the hospital and the insurance company. Now it’s time to take a look at some of the cost behind the blessing of labor and delivery.

Before receiving the Real Care Baby, I knew it took a lot of work to care for a newborn. I now know that it takes a lot more than I thought. The forty-eight hours I had the baby were frustrating, exhausting, and stressful. It’s a lot of hard work, but I’m sure if it were a real child it would totally be worth it.

One important health disparity is the lack of prenatal care amongst women in socially disadvantaged populations. These predominately include women of minorities, women who have a low income, and the location these women live in. This health disparity is important to address because research has shown that women who receive prenatal care are more likely to conceive babies of a healthy birth weight and have low infant mortality rates than those women who do not receive this prenatal care ("Putting Women 's Health Disparities on the Map," 2009). Therefore, health disparities amongst women in need of prenatal care have lead to preventable infant mortalities amongst women in vulnerable populations. Three reasons why this health disparity is important to address include the following: health disparities in prenatal care lead to lack of access to prenatal care to women in vulnerable populations, there are increased adverse health outcomes for both the infant and mother, and there are excess medical expenses that could otherwise have been prevented. Because “prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death in the United States” (“Healthy Mothers and Healthy babies,” 2013), finding and developing a solution will be extremely beneficial and needs to begin with addressing prenatal care.

Immediately after birth, the newborn has an identification band put on. One band is put on the ankle, one on the wrist. The newborn has footprints done immediately. Included on the footprint sheet are the newborn’s name, sex, DOB, time of birth, and mother’s health record.

Welcome Baby Care is a full-service doula agency that is located in Edina, Minnesota. This doula agency was established in 2006. Welcome Baby Care offers in-home services and care packages. Their in-home services include daytime doula care, “night nanny” care, lactation counseling, and gentle sleep coaching. Welcome Baby Care is affiliated with the Minnesota Department of Health, Postpartum Support International, Mom Enough, and more.

The prenatal period is when quick changes in the fetal organs are vulnerable to organizing change and stability but also building internal working system to trigger emotional responses (McEwen et al. 2013). It is a critical time for brain development and the PFC (McEwen et al. 2013). It exposes a selection of long -term modifications on brain development and behaviour (Entringer et al. 2009). Prenatal exposure to stress affects hormones in the body including the physiology and anatomy that relate to increasing drug levels, cortical communication and more (Entringer et al. 2009). Fetal stress is any event that interrupts a fetal process in stability in the body. (Entringer et al. 2009). During pregnancy, maternal stress impends the fetal nervous system and shortens the length of maturation due to many issues and concerns affecting the mother (Entringer et al. 2009). During pregnancy, maternal psychosocial stress threatens the fetal nervous system and contracts the length of gestation (Entringer et al. 2009). High levels of placental corticotrophin- releasing hormone

Due to the loss of muscle mass, protein adequacy is also a problem in older adults because it is not advised to increase protein intake. Limited protein intake may result in vitamin A, C, D, calcium, iron, zinc, and other deficiencies (Grodner, 2012). Overall, Theresa’s small nutrient intake can result in many nutrient deficiencies.

Prenatal care in the United States was not the way is today, there have been some improvements in regards to prenatal care. The number of pregnant women who received prenatal care has increased over the past 75 years (Zolotor and Carlough, 2014). Today, medical providers deliver more integrated services, which includes evidence-based screening, counseling, medical care, and psychosocial support.

As of 2013, around 353,000 babies were born in one day, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Be Fruitful and Multiply). Delivering babies is very difficult and strenuous, luckily labor and delivery nurses are trained to help care for the mother during the process of welcoming her newborn into the world safely. Labor and delivery nurses play a very crucial role in helping the delivery of babies and bringing safety and peace to the mother. I am choosing to pursue a career as a labor and delivery nurse because they get to provide care to babies, they get paid well, and they get to assist in the delivery process.

If I was the defense attorney trying to defend either one of these two cases. I would not bring it to trial because of the fact it would be hard for me to prove to the court that individuals was in there right state of mind when the incidents occurred. Furthermore it would take intensive amount of time for the psychologist to do this if he or she is not

There are many expecting mothers in our society that are very unware of what steps to take to ensure that they maintain a healthy environment for the developing fetus. In the case of Tano and Lonita, they are a couple of struggling immigrants who are working hard to get by. Unfortunately for them are some resources that are not made available to them due to socioeconomic status. However, there are many steps they can talk in order to eliminate the risks of a low birth weight, or preterm labor. One step would be to attend a comprehensive prenatal care program that are known to improve birth outcomes in situations such as Lonita’s. Another way would be for Tano to become more involved with Lonita and keep a strong bonded and caring relationship between them. The last solution would be to apply for government aid programs to improve financial situations.

Currently Medicaid helps in pay for about 40% of all births in the United States; this means that 40% of births in the United States are to mothers and families that qualify for federal assistance due to situations of poverty and low income. Medicaid also only covers hospital stays and services and doctors visits. This tells us that there is a need for improvement, as well as hole in the market, for assistance in maternal/child care during birth. There should be other organizations to turn to instead of only the government. Having more options for assistance and care would allow women to make healthier and more informed decisions

I was pretty intimidated by the entire baby shower registration process as a mother-to-be. Fortunately, I had a good friend (and new mom) to help me. I would never have thought to add many of the items she recommended. In the months to follow I was supremely thankful for most of them.

Prenatal care is medical care for pregnant woman and is important for a healthy pregnancy. Its key components include regular checkups and prenatal testing, eating healthfully, exercising, and beginning as soon as one knows she is pregnant.

Prenatal care is widely accepted as an important element in improving pregnancy outcome. (Gorrie, McKinney, Murray, 1998). Prenatal care is defined as care of a pregnant woman during the time in the maternity cycle that begins with conception and ends with the onset of labor. A medical, surgical, gynecologic, obstretic, social and family history is taken (Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary, 1998). It is important for a pregnant woman as well as our society to know that everything that you do has an effect on your baby. Because so many women opt not to receive the benefits of prenatal care, our society sees the ramification, which include a variety of complications primarily