6 to 10 February 2024 has been dedicated as Pregnancy Awareness Week in South Africa. Pregnancy Awareness Week aims to improve education about pregnancy with the objective of promoting healthy pregnancy and safe motherhood.
The MMC responsible for Health in the City of Tshwane, Cllr Rina Marx, stressed the importance of antenatal care for the early identification of potential risks to the mother and unborn child.
Antenatal care involves screening and testing for iron deficiency, infections, diabetes and hypertension, and to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child.
The City would like to encourage pregnant women to attend antenatal care as early as possible. Antenatal care should start as soon as a pregnancy is diagnosed.
Maternal and child health will continue to remain an important health priority for the City of Tshwane as South Africa has committed itself in terms of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 to, among others, –
- reduce maternal mortality;
- prevent deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age;
- reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one third; and
- ensure universal access to reproductive healthcare services.
All the primary healthcare clinics managed by the City of Tshwane offer a package of comprehensive primary healthcare services targeting, among others, woman and child health. Please make use of these services.