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.

During her pregnancy, a woman should see her doctor about once each month for the first six months of pregnancy, then every two weeks for the seventh and eighth month of pregnancy, and then every week until her baby is born. However, if a woman is over 35 or has a pregnancy with high risks due to health problems, she would probably have to see her doctor more often.

During prenatal visits, the practitioner will start by asking the pregnant woman how she was feeling and whether she has any
The Lamaze technique is the most widely used method where it teaches expected mothers that childbirth is a natural, common, healthy process that she should overcome with confidence. The Lamaze method helps expected mothers to decrease the perception of pain, use distraction during contractions and relieve discomfort. She uses controlled deep breathing, concentration, massage and controls over her body during the labor.

Natural childbirth is not an option when there is a problem with the mother or the child, when the mother is not able to push the child through the canal, when there is a disease that can affect the baby while crossing through the birth canal (for example, herpes, toxoplasmosis, HIV), when the baby has a very small umbilical cord or if the baby is choking inside with it (since the cord could get coiled), when the woman’s pelvis is too narrow for the baby’s head to fit and the baby cannot come out, and when a previous C-section has been done.

A cesarean section is necessary when labor is slow and hard or stops completely, when the baby shows signs of distress (such as a very fast or slow heart rate), when there is a problem with the placenta or umbilical cord putting the baby at risk, when the baby is too big to be delivered vaginally, when the