Maternal health involves healthcare during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum to reduce risks to mothers. During pregnancy, a woman's body undergoes many changes like morning sickness, breast enlargement, and uterine stretching as the fetus grows over 9 months. The placenta exchanges nutrients between the mother and fetus, so mothers must eat healthy and get medical care to support the developing baby's health. Common symptoms mothers experience include fatigue, nausea, breast changes, and skin/joint issues. Breastfeeding is the ideal way to feed infants for its nutritional and emotional benefits to both mother and baby. Responsible parenthood guided by conscience involves respecting spousal roles and transmitting life according to God's will through loving service.

2. Maternal health is the health of women during
pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum
period. It encompasses the health care
dimensions of family planning,
preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care in
order to reduce maternal morbidity and
mortality.
Pregnancy is the time when a new cell is
formed during fertilization, grows and
develops into a baby in the woman’s uterus.

3. Changes in the Mother’s Body
During pregnancy, a woman’s body undergoes many changes
1. “Morning sickness”. Some hormones produced by the
pregnant woman’s body makes her nauseated, this situation
usually last for 3 months. The same hormones make the
woman’s breast enlarge and prepare to produce milk.
2. Stretching of woman’s uterus. Over the 9-month period, the
woman’s uterus stretches to hold a full-sized newborn baby.
3. Swelling of legs, difficulty in sleeping, restlessness, and
irritability as the fetus gets larger.
Nourishing the Baby
The placenta is an organ that grows in the woman’s uterus
during pregnancy and allows nutrients, gases, and wastes to
be exchanged between the mother and the fetus.
During pregnancy, the fetus gets its nutrition from food the
mother eats. To ensure the health of the fetus, the mother
needs to eat healthy foods and take special vitamins. She
should get regular medical check-ups to protect her health
and the health of the growing fetus.

4. Normal physical changes and symptoms throughout pregnancy
Although they can range from mild to severe, the following
conditions are common during pregnancy:
1. Fatigue
2. Morning sickness
3. Sleep problems
4. Breast changes
5. Heartburn
6. Changes in vaginal discharge. A thin, milky-white discharge
(Leucorrhea) is normal throughout pregnancy. Also, the tissue
lining of the vagina becomes thicker and less sensitive during
pregnancy.
7. Nosebleeds and bleeding gums
8. Hemorrhoids and constipation
9. Varicose veins
10. Hair changes
11. Stretch marks, itchiness, and other skin changes
12. Leg cramps
13. Back pain and sciatica
14. Pelvic ache and hip pain
15. Hand pain, numbness, or weakness (carpal tunnel syndrome)

5. BREASTFEEDING
It is the traditional and ideal form of infant
feeding, meeting an infant’s nutritional needs for
his first four to six months of life. Human milk is
clean. It lowers the risk of intestinal illness and
general infection. Mother’s milk provides a host
of protective factors both cellular and hormonal.
Remember:
1. It is economical and nutritious.
2. It promotes emotional bonding between the
child and the mother.
3. Mother’s milk has antibodies that protects the
infant from certain diseases.

6. - is the spirituality of the family. From the very
beginning of marriage, the spouses embrace a
new heart which makes them a gift for each
other.
- At the heart of responsible parenthood, we find
God. He will be the source and fountain of life
and love in which the family lives in the world
today.
Responsible parenthood is guided by conscience. It
is the duty of parents to establish a family after
the will of God. The conjugal love they exchange
and share draws its origin from God therefore,
God manifests His plan and wisdom in the
consciences of all members in the family.

7. Responsible Parenthood is the mission of the family. It
includes the respect of the functions of the spouses and
their specific role in the propagation of life and defense
against the forces of death. The family is sent to "bear fruit
and have life to the full" by exercising their specific
function biologically and psychologically in the context of
the family. It is the mission of the family to transmit life
and raise the children according to the law of God.
Responsible Parenthood is the vocation of marriage.
Christian moral norms play important roles in the
formation of consciences and the formation of the human
family orientation in these contemporary times.
Responsible Parenthood is a service of love. It is at the
service of the serious commitment done by spouses before
God and the Church. Spouses are not free in the sense that
they do what they only think and desire. Responsible
Parenthood is the free exercise of love considering the
divine intention of God for the family.