Prenatal Care in the Community

#Sample College Research Paper

Parental in the Community: Brooklyn, New York

Pregnancy is not just an issue of concern for an individual mother and father. It also affects and is affected by family and the entire community. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2002) argues that communities need to be strengthened and families need to be supported in order to provide the necessary care for mothers. A pregnant woman’s family and community must make sure that she is provided with prenatal care (WHO, 2002).

Pregnant women in Brooklyn, New York, can access a variety of prenatal care resources in the community. For instance, The Brooklyn Hospital Center offers free comprehensive prenatal care from the beginning of pregnancy up until two months after delivery (The Brooklyn Hospital Center, n.d.). The Hospital provides medical care, delivery, sonograms and laboratory tests. It also offers important advice on healthy lifestyle choices for pregnant women. The facility further provides medications, vitamins and hospital care for the mother; dental care, nutrition, visiting nurse services and free pregnancy tests; HIV-related advice and genetic analysis, training on child delivery and moral support.

The New York State also provides health insurance for pregnant mothers through the Prenatal Care Assistance Program (P-CAP). The Program mandates these facilities to provide maternal and fetal monitoring, in-patient care for the mother and post-natal care. The facilities must also provide counseling to pregnant mothers on issues of nutrition, substance abuse, AIDS prevention and family planning.

Medical care helps to ensure that a mother is in the finest of health conditions to support fetal development. Sonograms help doctors to monitor the development and growth of the fetus using sound-waves. Counseling on healthy dietary and lifestyle choices during pregnancy helps mothers to make nutritional choices that favor a healthy growth of the fetus and their own health. It also helps them to avoid bad choices such as consumption of alcohol, caffeine, drugs and other substances that may pose health risks to the fetus. 

Conclusion

Indeed it is clear that prenatal care is of great significance to both the mother and the unborn child. Not only does it help in the treatment and prevention of potential health problems, but also ensures pregnant mothers adopt healthy lifestyles throughout their pregnancy. The Brooklyn community simply puts all these factors into consideration in a bid to offer quality prenatal care as discussed in the paper.