​Qaqambile Mdledle
Gauteng MEC for Health, Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi has encouraged all women who suspect they might be pregnant to start attending antenatal care as soon as possible.
This comes as the country marks the Pregnancy Awareness Week which is commemorated annually between 10-16 February, and is used to strengthen pregnancy education whilst highlighting important issues that promote a healthy pregnancy and a safe motherhood.
MEC Mokgethi said early antenatal care attendance assists women with various services, such as managing existing medical conditions which can be aggravated by the pregnancy, such as hypertension, diabetes, infections and anaemia.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), during pregnancy the body of a woman undergoes many changes that can be overwhelming. This is why it is important for women who discover they are pregnant to start attending antenatal classes as soon as possible and to manage any existing medical conditions that may affect the pregnancy.
“We can never over emphasize the importance of enrolment into antenatal classes, early because any complications which could have an adverse effect on child delivery are detected early and managed better than when patients present themselves late,” said MEC Mokgethi.
She further urged Gauteng residents to make use of the 32-community health centres in the province which provide 24-hour emergency and accident, outpatient, radiology, pharmaceutical and maternity services.
Around 271 224 pregnant women received antenatal care services in the province during the 2019/2020 financial year.​