Issue 148

Prenatal care can detect and treat many problems. Preeclampsia comes to mind. The classic signs of preeclampsia are high blood pressure and protein in the urine. It affects the placenta by reducing the blood flow and, unchecked, can lead to intrauterine growth retardation and fetal demise. Checking blood pressure and urinary protein are routine parts of prenatal care.

 Read more…. Marion’s Message: Preventing Problems Through Prenatal Care

I had to trot to keep up with Doña Juanita on the footpath leading to our first prenatal home visit of the day—a first time mother who had been born into Doña’s hands some 17 years past. Doña Juanita was in her 60s—my elder at the time—small, fierce, and focused. She brought nothing with her but her hands and a lifetime of wisdom born of experience.

 Read more…. Village Prenatal Bringing Birth Back to Community

Imagine that you are a young woman, poor and pregnant. Let’s say your name is Myrna. Your home is located in a remote, rural area of an island that is recovering from disaster. You have had no prenatal care because it’s too far to walk and even if it was nearby, you could not afford the cost.

 Read more…. Buntis Day Party: A Mercy In Action Imaginative Prenatal Model in the Philippines

met Midwife Penninah Mukhebi at the FreMo Birth Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, where I was offering volunteer midwifery for the month of May 2023. I traveled there by myself and was welcomed with open arms and kindness by the FreMo staff, including their director Moffat Osoro, a kind, well-spoken Kenyan man.

 Read more…. Volunteering in Kenya, Friendship with Midwife Penninah, and African Naming Traditions

I would like to share my thoughts on prenatal care, which I believe can start before the woman is even pregnant as she prepares her body for her pregnancy.

 Read more…. Thoughts on Prenatal Care