Health experts have identified antenatal care as a critical factor in ensuring safe pregnancies and healthy childbirth for women and babies, emphasizing its importance in reducing preventable maternal and newborn complications.
They spoke in interviews with reporters on Monday in Abuja.
They said that despite global advancements in healthcare, many women still experience preventable pregnancy complications due to late or inadequate access to medical services.
According to them, antenatal care provides routine check-ups that help monitor the health of both mother and unborn child, enabling early detection and management of conditions such as high blood pressure, anaemia, infections, and gestational diabetes.
Dr. Charles Umeh, a gynaecologist at Charles Healthcare Hospital, Suleja, said antenatal visits are essential for monitoring pregnancy progress and ensuring early intervention when complications arise.
He said, “My wife is one of my biggest challenges when it comes to attending antenatal clinics because she sees it as a waste of time, especially since she is married to a doctor.”
He added that antenatal care allows for the early detection of health conditions that can be treated or effectively managed when identified in time.
A retired midwife, Maryam Isah, said antenatal care remains an essential preventive service that improves maternal and newborn survival when properly accessed by expectant mothers.
She said women who attend antenatal clinics are more likely to deliver in safer environments under the supervision of skilled health professionals, thereby reducing the risk of maternal and newborn deaths.
She added, “As a retired midwife and the only member of my family in the medical field, I had to educate my younger sisters and my brothers’ wives on antenatal care before they fully accepted it.”
Sharing her experience, Rashida Lawal, a mother of seven, said she initially avoided antenatal care and did not attend clinics during most of her earlier pregnancies.
She said, “Since I got married in 1999, I had my first child without any antenatal care services, and the same applied to my second through sixth children.”
Lawal, however, said her perception changed after her sixth child was diagnosed with Down syndrome, which made her appreciate the importance of antenatal care before her last pregnancy.
Public health campaigns continue to emphasize early booking and consistent antenatal visits, while experts urge families and communities to support pregnant women in accessing care, describing antenatal services as lifesaving.
