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Antenatal care in developing countries: promises achievements and missed opportunities. An analysis of trends levels and differentials 1990-2001.
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2003
Year
Unknown Venue
Family MedicineReproductive SciencesReproductive HealthGynecologyMaternity ServiceAntenatal VisitsFamily PlanningHealth InformationContraceptionIntrapartum CareObstetricsPrenatal CareMissed OpportunitiesTrends LevelsPublic HealthRespectful Maternity CareMaternal Health PolicyMaternal HealthMidwiferyPerinatal EpidemiologyPregnancy NutritionPromises AchievementsNutrition Malaria Hiv/aidsHealthcare AccessRural HealthInternational HealthPediatricsPregnancyMedicineWomen's Health
The antenatal period offers opportunities for health information and services that can improve maternal and infant health, yet these services are underutilized and often lack adequate content and quality, especially in developing countries. Greater efforts are needed to improve the content and quality of antenatal services and to ensure better access for rural, poor, and less‑educated women. Excerpt.
The antenatal period offers opportunities for delivering health information and services that can significantly enhance the health of women and their infants but its potential remains insufficiently exploited. Whereas women themselves appear to have embraced the concept of care during pregnancy with enthusiasm when such services are available the care they are offered often falls short of the ideal by a long way in terms of content and probably also quality. Antenatal visits offer entry points for a range of other programmes – such as nutrition malaria HIV/AIDS and TB – as well as for obstetric care. Greater efforts are needed to improve the content and quality of services offered. In addition increased attention is needed to ensure that particular groups of women specifically those living in rural areas the poor and the less educated obtain better access to antenatal services. (excerpt)