Impact of Comprehensive Antenatal Care to Reduce the Complications During Pregnancy like Pregnancy-induced Hypertension and Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Abstract

Aim and objectives:The impact of comprehensive antenatal care to reduce the complications during pregnancy like pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Materials and methods:Five hundred thirty-two women attending the antenatal clinic at Neel clinic in Panvel, Navi Mumbai, India were enrolled between 18-28 weeks of pregnancy from May 2015 and April 2017, in prospective non-randomized, matched, interventional study.A total of 254 women were enrolled in the study group; 278 women were enrolled in the control group. Women were matched for age, gravida, parity, educational, religion, and residential area.Comprehensive antenatal care included: • Stress management through rajayoga meditation (Brahma kumaris) • Nutritious and satwik food • Antenatal physical and breathing exercises Exercises, walking and Meditation were practiced by the study group from date of entry into the study until delivery. The control group walked half an hour twice a day (standard obstetric advice) during the study period. Compliance in both groups was ensured by frequent telephone calls and maintenance of daily activity charts.Results: Complications such as isolated intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (p 0.002) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) with associated IUGR (p 0.001) were also significantly lower in the comprehensive antenatal care group.Conclusion: Stress management through meditation as well as exercise and nutritional management may contribute to decreasing risk of isolated intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (p 0.002) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) with associated IUGR, and eventually would decrease problems in the infant, children, adolescent and fetal origin of adult diseases."Comprehensive antenatal care is safe, relatively cheap to implement and would reduce the costs of long-term health care."