The Department of Health has, with effective from 01 April 2017, increased the number of antenatal care visits for all pregnant women from the current four visits to eight.
This is part of the department's plans to reduce complications during pregnancy which sometimes lead to maternal and infant mortalities in South Africa.
This means pregnant women can now visit clinic before week 14, during week 20, week 26, week 30, week 34, week 36, week 38 and week 40 of the pregnancy.
Meanwhile the Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi urges pregnant women to make use of these added visits which will enable the Nurses and Doctors to detect and timely treat health problems and screen for complications that may develop during pregnancy.
"We hope through these additional antenatal care visits, pregnant women will be also able to receive regular blood pressure testing, urine testing, monitoring of the baby`s growth and movements for safe pregnancies and healthy babies because any delays may lead to avoidable deaths.
As we continue to provide early access to high-quality care throughout pregnancy, labour and delivery, I also advice all women to avoid any form of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs during pregnancy because these can increase a baby's risk of various birth defects, miscarriage and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a serious condition that can affect a child throughout life", said Motsoaledi.
The new measures will add to the existing initiatives such as Road to Health Booklet, MomConnect (app for pregnant mothers) and NurseConnect (uses mobile technology to support nurses and midwives working in maternal health, child health and family planning) introduced in the past years to reduce the number of maternal and infant deaths.
These maternal health platforms connect more than a million pregnant women and new mothers to vital services and information.
According to figures published by UNICEF, the under-five mortality rate has declined from 78 deaths per 1 000 live births in 2002 to 41 deaths per 1 000 live births in 2015, while the infant (under-1) mortality rate has declined from 55 deaths per 1 000 live births to 34 deaths per 1,000 live births during the same period.
For any further enquiries, please contact:
Popo Maja
Head of Communication
Cell: 072 585 3219
Tel: 012 395 9591
E-mail: Popo.Maja@health.gov.za
