11.1: Introduction
Routine prenatal care begins at the first prenatal visit and continues throughout the 280 days (40 weeks) of pregnancy. It involves nursing interventions based on the nurse’s assessment of the family. The purpose of prenatal care is to gather assessment data at each prenatal visit, to analyze the data to ensure there are no factors placing the fetus or pregnant person at risk for complications, and when complications are diagnosed, to monitor the pregnancy more closely for a positive patient and fetal outcome. Registered nurses are part of the prenatal health-care team in county public health departments, community health centers and clinics, and provider private practices, providing education regarding the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum periods as well as newborn and infant care.