Mother and Baby Health Care in Focus

The standard aims to ensure that all pregnant women receive the requisite screening, education and counseling during the pre-conception and antenatal periods.

The antenatal period is the time in pregnancy between conception and birth. The pre-conception care is a set of interventions that identify and address biomedical, behavioral and social risks to woman of productive age to reduce risk factors that might affect future pregnancy through prevention and management of health issues that require action before conception.

Dr. Jennifer Moore, Section Head, Family and School Health at HAAD said: “Antenatal care is the care that pregnant women receive from healthcare professionals during pregnancy. Pregnant women will be offered a series of appointments with a midwife, or sometimes with a doctor who specializes in pregnancy and birth (an obstetrician). They will check that the mother and their baby are well, give useful information about being pregnant, and answer questions.”

“A woman’s health and behavior in pregnancy affect her baby. A poor diet, smoking, certain drugs, and severe illnesses can hold back the baby’s development. Hence during pregnancy, women should not only take good care of their own health but also go for regular checkups with their doctor. This care is necessary to check that the mother and the baby are fit and well” Dr. Jennifer added.

Antenatal care is a covered benefit in the basic insurance product, hence covered in both enhanced and Thiqa, however maternity (inpatient) has a 6 months insurance coverage waiting period for new enrolees for the basic product and some of the enhanced policies.

Pre-conception care is also covered under Thiqa. For Non UAE Nationals coverage should be consistent with their insurance policy and policy schedule of benefits. According to HAAD, the Antenatal standards key recommendations include:

• Pregnant women should be offered a series of antenatal appointments to check on their health and the health of their baby
• Each antenatal visit should include screening recommended for the stage of pregnancy, counseling and education and any necessary preventative measures
• During these appointments they should be given information and clear explanations about their care
• They should be given the opportunity to discuss any issues and to ask questions.
• Pregnant women should be offered evidence-based information regarding their care. A schedule of antenatal appointments should be determined by the function of the appointments. For a woman who is nulliparous (first pregnancy) with an uncomplicated pregnancy, a schedule of ten appointments should be adequate. For a woman who is porous (subsequent pregnancy) with an uncomplicated pregnancy, a schedule of seven appointments should be adequate
• Further details on the Standard can be found on the HAAD website www.haad.ae  

According to HAAD statistics in 2010, the number of births in the Emirate reached 29,327 in over 35 birthing facilities.

The Antenatal Standards are mandatory and must be implemented by all licensed healthcare facilities providing maternity services and newborn screening services including laboratory tests, follow up and referral services in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.