The Importance of Prenatal, Intranatal, and Postnatal Care

The moment a woman realizes that she is pregnant, she starts taking care of herself more than she ever did before. There are three stages of pregnancy – Prenatal, Intranatal and Postnatal. An expecting mother must take care of her at every stage in order to ensure a smooth pregnancy period and good health of the fetus.

By taking proper care, all the stages of pregnancy can be turned into a beautiful experience for expecting mom. Here is the importance of expecting mother and child care in each stage of pregnancy:

Prenatal Care
Prenatal period is the time period between the conception and birth of the child. Prenatal care reduces the risks and helps in easy delivery. One important thing to keep in mind in prenatal period is to visiting gynecologist regularly. Prenatal care includes:
1. Maintaining the health of expecting mother
2. Visiting gynecologist regularly
3. Quitting alcohol and cigarettes
4. Eating healthy food
5. Exercising regularly
6. Avoiding stress

Intranatal Care
Intranatal period is the time between the labor pain and birth of the child. Intranatal care is important for smooth and healthy delivery without injuring the mother or the baby. Cleanliness must be ensured at the time of delivery to prevent any complications. Intranatal care also reduces the risks of any problems in postnatal period.

Postnatal Care
Postnatal period is the time from the birth of the child to 6-8 weeks after it. It is a crucial time period for both the mother and the child and they need utmost care during this period. Thus, it is advised that the mother must takes proper rest to restore to her optimal health. In addition, proper care must be taken to ensure problem free breastfeeding. Postnatal care includes:

1. Ensuring proper rest and sleep
2. Vaginal care
3. Having a proper diet
4. Visiting doctor regularly

Care in all three stages of pregnancy is crucial to ensure the good health of both mother and child. In addition to taking care of all the preventive measures and visiting gynecologist on regular intervals, the expecting couple can also take up the help of an experienced attendant.

Benefits of Hiring Professional for Mother and Child Care

Pre and post pregnancy is a period when mother requires an intensive care. And soon after the pregnancy, there is one more little member in the family, who needs care and that too in the best way possible just like his/her mother. In most of the cases, it gets a little difficult for family members to stay with the mother and child all the time, considering the fact that they both require care along with strict supervision throughout the day.

Even if someway one manages to get mother and child a dedicated caretaker, be it a relative or a family member, he or she may not able to give the required comprehensive care and support.

In this scenario, you can hand over this critical responsibility to an experienced professional who can provide the required care and support to the mother and her new born baby.

Let us take a glance at the list of benefits offered by availing such service:

1. Get personalized care:
Mother and child can get personalised care as the expert from a renowned personalized care agency attends them specifically. Also, the expert is well-trained on how to give an intensive care to the baby and mother.

2. The professionals are certified:
Professionals, who are recruited at the renowned organisations which offer such services, are certified and hence, there is no risk or issue related to their credibility.

3. They are well-trained:
These professionals are given proper training and hence, they are the best people to give proper care. The training is given regarding everything, be it planning, implementing, or monitoring the diet chart for both mother and child, maintaining the hygiene, or helping the mother for light postpartum exercises.

4. Affordability:
Choosing an expert reduces other additional costs which you may incur on hiring separate professionals for different tasks. When you hire these professionals, they serve you in everything required to provide care for the mother and child.

5. Convenient hiring process:
Hiring such professionals is effortless as there are some reputed organisations that have made this process effortless. One can book appointments over phone calls or via online portals, and can choose the preferred meeting timing. Apart from this, there are several easy payment modes available to pay for this service.

Before you hire one of the professionals, it is advisable to go through the reviews and feedbacks regarding this service. One can also go about checking the expertise and years of experience of these professionals in order to choose the best one. 

Steps to Follow While Hiring Home Care Attendants

Home care attendants are the health aide or nursing staff that provides their services for a limited time or indefinite time at the patient’s residence. They provide many services from personal care and hygiene to nutrition and medication.

Interview
The process starts with interviewing the attendant, so ask the right questions in the interview. You can ask for an open ended question which requires more than a yes or no as an answer; this will help you learn more about the candidate. You can also ask about other details which are not mentioned in the resume. Other questions you can ask are if the candidate is okay with working for flexible hours, whether he will be having any problem in transportation, etc.

Ask for the candidate’s credentials
Though attendants with certificates such as Nursing Assistant and Certified Personal Care Aide generally ask for higher fees, it is better to opt for them than trust any uncertain caretaker with the health of your loved ones. Certified caretakers are able to perform the necessary tasks with proper precision and expertise.

Reference check
Reference and background check of the candidate before hiring them is a must. Asking their previous employer about the candidate is legal and it is recommended to perform at least two reference checks. A background check can ensure the safety of your loved ones as it lets you gauge the credential of the attendant.

Trust your instincts
Still not very confident about the attendant after the interview and reference check? Follow your instincts, and look for another candidate. The attendant can be good on paper, but might not be the best choice for you and your family.

The hiring of a home care attendant is crucial, and following these certain steps before hiring them can be helpful in the long run.

The Role of a Home Attendant

In many cases, patients get discharged from the hospital, but they still need intravenous injections and need help to carry their day-to-day tasks including personal care and hygiene to nutrition and medication. In this situation, doctors often suggest to take help of a home attendant who takes responsibility of the patient and all his/her needs.

What does a Home attendant do?

A Home attendant is a certified nursing or personal care assistant that provides care for patients at their home. A Home attendant may work independently or with an agency. Many people prefer a home attendant who is working for an agency because agencies have certain health and safety requirements that they meet.

A Home attendant helps in tasks such as bathing, changing clothes, changing bandages, administer injection, etc.

From the doctor’s perspective, a home attendant can be of a great help if the patient is unable to do day-to-day tasks. The spouse or any other family member may not be able to provide the care with proficiency as a home attendant will be able to do. They are certified and trained professionals who know how to provide medical and personal assistance to the patients.

How to Find the Right Home attendant?

If you are looking for an independent home attendant, then conduct an interview and ask questions. Ask the attendant about his/her previous work and contact the patients or the family the said home attendant has worked for. Pay attention to what they say about the home attendant.

However, it is recommended to hire the home attendant from an agency. The presence of an agency grants credence to the ability of the home attendant and you can expect quality healthcare service from him/her. The home attendant will work with certain guidelines in mind for the best care of the patient.

Routine Health Care Tips for Newborn Babies

Cute, small and fragile your baby may seem, but looking after a baby is a responsibility which requires a huge amount of patience and time. Constant care and presence may be necessary in case of a newborn at least on the mother’s part. The baby’s health has to be the paramount factor for new parents, and setting up a routine for baby healthcare could really help. Here are a few tips for new parents as to what they should consider when planning the baby care routine:

Newborn clean up routines

Cleaning is one of the essentials of newborn baby care. For cleaning up a newborn baby, sponge bath is a good solution atleast until the umbilical cord has dried up. Since newborns don’t get as dirty, a sponge bath shall be sufficient to keep them clean. The drier the umbilical cord remains, the quicker it falls off.

Feeding

Newborns might need to be fed every two or three hours. Generally, the newborns tend to lose a few percent of their birth weight in the first week but gain it back in the second. As far as the amount of milk is concerned, the baby shall help you know if it’s full. Let us give you a head start here - it is usual for a baby to have 5 to 7 diaper changes and poop twice a day.

Moisturizing 

Drying up of the baby’s skin is again normal. To moisturize the baby, essential baby oils or fragrance-free hypoallergenic baby lotions can be brought into use. About 10-15 minutes of massage can help boost growth and development, and help the baby sleep better.

Mother’s diet

It is essential that breastfeeding mothers take to a healthier and more nutritious diet. Avoiding smoking or alcohol, processed food, fast and spicy food shall keep not only the mother but the baby healthy and happy too.

Dressing the baby

While it is important that you dress the baby adequately to protect it from cold, but care also must also be taken not to overdress. Baby-wears must not include anything tight that could leave marks on the baby’s soft skin or interfere with its blood circulation. The clothing must also be washed using mild and anti-microbial cleanser to prevent the baby’s skin from any harm.

Sleep

Newborn babies tend to rest for a longer time or more often. Some baby’s may also require swaddling to help them fall asleep. While undertaking any such activity, the baby must be held gently yet securely, ensuring that proper support is being provided to it. The swaddles must be slow and gentle. Also, don’t let the baby sleep for more than 3 hours at a stretch without waking it up for feeding.

We hope our tips will keep you in good stead when taking care of your newborn!