Table 4 Function: maternal health care department: obstetric and gynecology

- Pre-marital & health-care services.

- Take proper family, medical history, educate couples about the essentials, order for CXR, blood group, R.H & other investigations for STD.

- Take proper obstetric history, conduct properly clinical examination searching for signs of anemia hypertension, edema, urinary tract disorders, pelvic size and shape, and any fetal abnormality, do a schedule for antenatal visit and weight checking giving antitetanus toxoid at the proper time & calculate the expected date for delivery.

- Management of common gestational health problems.

- Diagnose and prescribe treatment for anemia, hypertension, urinary tract infections, toxoplasmosis and diabetes, and follow up patients through out gestational period.

Risky pregnancies – diagnosis and follow up.

- Detect and manage risky pregnancies and follow them up.

Delivery-health-care services.

- Facilitate process of delivery to be normal uncomplicated vaginal labor and promote uterine contractions for expulsion of a head presented fetus under sterile conditions.

Essential postnatal health care services.

- Examine for unevoluted uterus, bleeding & promote healthy purperium, lactation and look for breast complications including over encouragement or crackled nipples.

- Health educational advice for pregnant and lactating women.

- Use proper methods of communication to explain essential nutrient materials needed and the value of attending MCH clinics periodically, taking tonic drugs, vaccination and care of breasts.

- Immunization of women during the age of child bearing.

- Protect women through proper implementing of vaccination program against German measles and tetanus.

- Referral services.

- Put criteria for risky patient's referral and direction, identify proper time and essential measures for referral, and follow up referred patients.

- Screening for the risk of developing breast carcinoma.

- Perform a proper clinical examination of breasts and detect any lump and manage accordingly specially for those with positive family history of breast cancer.

- Follow up hydatiform-mole

- Monitor women with history of hydatidiform mole, prescribe essential contraceptive, give methotrexate, and follow them up.

- Management of common health problems of lactating breast.

- Diagnose and manage common breast problems e.g. crackled nipples, retracted malformed nipples, and breast abscess.

- Infertility and menstrual cycle regulation measures.

- Take proper menstrual history, detect any abnormality, relate findings to failure of conception, and suggest proper treatment method.

- Family planning services.

- Display a proper action for a better child spacing time, and communicate properly to justify a routine attendance of family planning clinics.