Doctors at CF Timisoara Clinical Hospital warn that a third of pregnant women do not undergo any examination during pregnancy, and the risks are great for both the fetus and the mother.

“A third of pregnant women do not undergo any examination during pregnancy. The risks are great for both the fetus and the mother. Adequate monitoring of pregnancy is an important guarantee of ensuring the health of both the future mother and the newborn. The importance of this process is related to the ability to identify and manage potential complications that may arise during pregnancy,” CF Timişoara Clinical Hospital experts said on Wednesday, quoted by News.ro.

According to them, monitoring involves regular examinations, laboratory tests and periodic evaluations.

Regular monitoring allows early detection and control of risk factors, such as hypertension, gestational diabetes or abnormalities of fetal development, doctors say.

Dr. Elvis Prikope, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology at CF Timişoara Clinical Hospital, says that according to statistics from the last three years, nationally, 30 out of 100 pregnant women did not visit a doctor during pregnancy.

Among pregnant women under the age of 19, adolescent patients, this percentage reaches 65% in some centers of the country. Uncontrolled pregnancy belongs to the category of high risk. The risks relate to complications for both the mother and the fetus. Maternal complications are the exacerbation of some pathologies that existed in a woman before pregnancy, detected or not diagnosed before pregnancy, complications that can lead to spontaneous termination of pregnancy before the death of the mother (death of a woman during pregnancy or within 42 days from the end of pregnancy or up to 30 days after the abortion),” said the doctor.

It states that Romania’s maternal mortality rate in 2021 was 28.2 per 100,000 live births.

According to specialists, complications of the fetus are represented by spontaneous abortion, defects in the development of the fetus, premature birth, prenatal (intrauterine, before birth) or postpartum (after birth) death of the fetus.

“Proper pregnancy monitoring consists in antenatal consultation when the patient is registered. During it, a diagnosis of pregnancy and an assessment of the patient’s state of health are carried out, mandatory examinations are carried out during the appointment and interdisciplinary consultations are carried out in case of the presence of pathology related to pregnancy”, – the representatives of the medical department also note.

Dr. Elvis Prikope also notes that in addition to important, mandatory tests, the first prenatal consultation also includes special tests that must be performed in case of suspicion of a pregnancy-related condition.

“We are talking about an ECG and consultation with a cardiologist, determination of glycosylated hemoglobin, as well as conducting an oral glucose tolerance test for diabetes, as well as determination of the level of thyroid hormones. And to identify possible congenital malformations, a double test is performed at 11-13 weeks of pregnancy, as well as a triple test at 15-17 weeks of pregnancy. It is also necessary to conduct an ultrasound examination of the morphology of the fetus at 20-22 weeks of pregnancy. The duration of a normal pregnancy is 38-42 weeks. We are talking about premature birth up to 38 weeks and pregnancy over 42 weeks,” said the doctor.

The frequency of prenatal examinations in uncomplicated pregnancies should be monthly, up to 28 weeks of pregnancy. Between 28 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, it is recommended to undergo prenatal examinations once every two months, and from 36 weeks of pregnancy until delivery – every week.