Antenatal care

Antenatal care provides an opportunity to inform and educate pregnant women on a variety of issues related to pregnancy, birth and parenthood. The aim of this exercise is to equip them to make appropriate choices that will contribute to optimum pregnancy outcome and care of the newborn. This concept has made antenatal education programmes a standard component of antenatal care worldwide.

There has been controversy about the impact of antenatal education on pregnancy outcome. However, a recent synthesis of experience with information, education and communication (IEC) makes the point that it works. In other words, an appropriate strategy of IEC leads to or reinforces desirable attitudes and behaviour.

Educated women have better pregnancy outcome compared with uneducated women. This may be partly because they are better informed and make better choices. Literacy among women in many developing countries is low and there are socio-cultural beliefs and practices with adverse effects on pregnancy and birth even among educated women. The "Three Phases of Delay Model" highlights the importance of IEC in the prevention of maternal death by describing the sequence of events from late recognition of danger signs to maternal death. Therefore, an appropriate programme of health literacy or behaviour change communication is highly desirable.