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Maternal Health
Although an exclusive focus on care during pregnancy
has not been shown to have a direct impact on maternal
mortality, antenatal care provides an important entry point for women to the health care system. It
presents an opportunity to assess the future mother’s
overall condition, diagnose and treat infections,
screen for anaemia and HIV/AIDS, enrol women in
programmes to prevent transmission of HIV to
infants, and prevent low birth weight. Women who
get antenatal care are also more likely to have a
skilled attendant present during childbirth.
PROGRESS AND NEEDED SERVICE LINKS. Some
progress has been made in expanding rates of antenatal
coverage since the ICPD. According to a recent
report from WHO and UNICEF, the number of pregnant
women receiving antenatal care from a skilled
health provider has grown 20 per cent since 1990. The
greatest increase, 31 per cent, has been in Asia, while
the number of women getting antenatal care in sub-
Saharan Africa has grown just 4 per cent.
More than half of all women in the developing
world now receive at least four antenatal visits during
pregnancy (the number recommended by WHO),
although those with less education are vastly underrepresented.
Women with secondary schooling are
two to three times more likely to receive antenatal
care as women with no education. Poor women, too,
are far less likely to receive antenatal care, as with
all health services.(32)
While good quality antenatal care can improve
women’s health in the period immediately before and
after birth, it does not have a significant impact on
maternal death risks unless it is linked with delivery
care.(33) Many countries are tying expansions in antenatal
care with other safe motherhood services. For
example, Mongolia, with its great distances and harsh
weather, has created 316 maternal rest homes where
women herders can stay and receive essential care
during the weeks before delivery.(34)
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