Is it really that dangerous?

Question

How dangerous is it not to recieve prenatal care--with the assumption the woman who is pregnant is eating healty, taking over the counter prenatal vitamins, and not doing any high risk activities?

I would like to know in which states it is concidered child neglect?

Answer 1

No, it isn't. If you take care of yourself and make sure to stay healthy, you'll be fine. Pregnancy isn't an illness- you don't absolutely *need* a doctor to make it through your pregnancy well. The person who answered with the quote saying something like "women who do not recieve prenatal care are 100 times more likely to die in childbirth" needs to research further than one ubiquitously popular book. Millions of women a year choose to have wonderfully successful unassisted births (visit the link that the first answerer gave, it's a wonderful site).

Answer 2

It is probably not dangerous, as most pregnancies go on without any drama at all.

However...there are some things which can occur, that are easily caught and treated if seen by a train health care professional- I am thinking of pre-eclampsia for one. If you had no prenatal care, you would not notice your blood pressure rising and there is no pain but it is possibly fatal for mother and baby.

A mother who shows up at a hospital to birth and has had no prenatal care is assumed to be high risk, is immediately put on a high risk regime and is more likely to have a c/s, drips, IV antibiotics for GBS, separated from baby who they may want to test for all manner of things, and will also be suspected of negligence and watched very carefully for interaction between mom and baby.

There is a lot of research showing that good prenatal care results in healthier babies, and that countries where they have universal health care and everyone gets prenatal care they have lower infant mortality rates. There is some research which suggests that the traditional prenatal visits schedule is outmoded and that fewer visit do not increase risk in low risk women.

There are reasons why women do not seek prenatal care, and most of the reasons are not good...if you are considering not getting prenatal care, email me if you'd like to chat about it.

All the best.

Answer 3

With a healthy, low-risk pregnancy, the danger may be minimal. After all, humans have been birthed for thousands of years w/o any medical care. HOWEVER, it seems rather foolish to not take advantage of the healthcare system when it is available to you. If cost is an option, there are a number of organizations that help with free prenatal care. I'd begin by contacting your county health department, who will know the resources in your area. Prenatal care can certainly benefit in cases where the pregnancy is complicated by some factor, and the education it provides to first-time parents in particular is very much worthwhile.

Answer 4

With my first son I started very early going to prenatal check ups and everything. I had ultrasounds and did everything I was supposed to do. When he was born I had undiagnosed (until I got to the hospital) pre eclampsia and he was born with a lot of birth defects. So going to the doctor was pretty pointless, they did not notice any of the things they are paid to notice. They never said anything about all the swelling I had at the end of my pregnancy or the excessive weight gain I experienced, I had a few episodes of bleeding and they still did nothing. As long as you are taking prenatal vitamins and eating healthy and not gaining too much or too little weight and go to the hospital if you feel something is wrong then I think going to the doctor is a waste of time. With my 3 other kids I still continued to go though I guess just because it made me feel better.

Answer 5

You could be completely fine, but it's not something I would risk. If it's because of insurance reasons, there are lots of options out there. I had one baby, then a miscarriage, and then another baby, and I know after that miscarriage it was very important to me to do all I could to make sure my baby and my pregnancy was going well. With my first daughter I actually had really really bad preeclampsia (they actually caught it just in time, they said I was at the point I was going to start to seizure) and the thing is, is that I didn't feel a bit sick or any different than I had before I had preeclampsia. Like I said I don't think I would risk it and I would definitely suggest you get prenatal care, because it really helps them diagnose issues, before they become serious problems. Whatever you decide, good luck with your pregnancy and congratulations!!

Answer 6

Pretty dangerous, eating healthy and all of that is great but there are certain things that can only be checked by a Dr. You can be doing everything right and still develop pre-eclampsia, maternal diabetes, etc... Plus they take ultrasounds to make sure baby is developing normally and has sufficient amniotic fluid. The ultrasound can detect a problem that if treated in time, could save your baby. Are you RH neg.? There are scores of things that basic prenatal care can prevent or detect and correct.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

I got almost no prenatal care, because I didn't see that going in so they could measure my belly with measuring tape was doing anything pertinent, considering I had a little fat on the outside, and my baby isn't the size of the womb. She came out nine pounds, fifteen ounces, and is now a happy, healthy, really tall five-year old little girl.

Answer 8

It can be but no doctor is going to come straight out and say it is criminal not the get prenatal care. I have heard of no states thay find it is criminal. Obviously, Texas has no law to that effect or they would not have had the Andrea Yates case. Mental health is just as important as physical health. So yes it is dangerous not to get prenatal care.

Answer 9

I don't consider it dangerous at all. Pregnancy is a natural occurance that the majority of the time doesn't require medical intervention. Doctors and hospitals are not a requirement for a healthy PG and birth

How can it be child neglect; it's a fetus, not a child

Answer 10

We receive prenatal care for the well being of our baby.. With my first child everything seemed fine to me until I went to the doctor and they checked the baby, I had to be induced that day because she was not getting the oxygen she needed. I think it is always better to have a doctors advice.