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Prenatal Care—An Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

H. David Banta ,
Susanne Houd  and
Elbio Suarez Ojeda
H. David Banta
Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Susanne Houd
Affiliation:
World Health Organization
Elbio Suarez Ojeda
Affiliation:
Pan American Health Organization
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Extract

Prenatal care is all of the care that a pregnant woman receives from organized health care services, as well as from family, relatives, and friends. It begins with planning for pregnancy, and should be seen by those who give it as part of a process that continues through labor and delivery and into the neonatal period. The primary aim of prenatal care is promotion of maternal and fetal health, viewed as a unit until the pregnancy reaches full term (3). This encompasses the goals of reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, detecting early factors that heighten the perinatal risk in both individual pregnancies and vulnerable groups, intervening to improve outcomes, educating all who provide or receive prenatal care, and helping women make their pregnancies and birth a positive life experience.

Type
The Technology of Prenatal Care
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 1 , Issue 4 , October 1985 , pp. 783 - 788
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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References

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