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Prenatal Care:
- To educate young women on proper pregnancy care
and assess risk for complications
Delivery:
- To monitor for possible complications
Prenatal and postpartum:
- To provide information on contraception, breastfeeding,
child-care skills and child health
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If a young woman is pregnant, intended or unintended, she needs
prenatal, delivery and postpartum care. Many young women, both
married and unmarried, do not seek prenatal care. Prenatal care
is important, because it is an opportunity to learn about proper
pregnancy care, including good nutrition and signs of possible
complications. It also gives a provider the chance to assess
the woman for risk factors, such as anemia, hypertension or
infections.
Young women under age 16 and in their first pregnancy need
to be monitored closely during delivery because of their increased
risk. Many maternal and child deaths result because a mother
does not receive timely care for obstetric complications, including
obstructed delivery and hemorrhage. Ideally, a young woman should
either deliver at a health facility with good quality emergency
obstetric care or have immediate access to such care. For all
women, the immediate postpartum period is an important time
to check for possible bleeding and infection. For young people
and first-time parents, the prenatal and postpartum periods
are good times to provide information on contraception, breastfeeding,
child-care skills and child health.
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