Abida Sultana, Rizwana Riaz, Iffat Tehseen, Syed Arshad Sabir.
Assessment of pregnancy outcome with and without antenatal care.
Pak J Med Res Jan ;49(2):32-4.

Background: Women with poor attendance for antenatal care, have an increased risk of poor pregnancy outcomes. Antenatal care is an effective method of preventing adverse outcomes in pregnant women and their babies. Objectives: To assess and compare the pregnancy outcome in women with and without antenatal care and to see its effects on maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Subjects and Methods: A descriptive observational study was carried out in Allied hospitals (Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi General Hospital and District Head Quarter Hospital of Rawalpindi Medical College) for a period of 2 months in 2008. All women coming to labor rooms, wards and emergency department of these hospitals for delivery were included in the study. Women who had at least 3 antenatal visits were categorized as “with antenatal care”, while those with less than 3 antenatal visits as “without antenatal care”. Results: A total of 170 mothers were seen at these hospitals in 2 months. Of the total, 137(80%) received antenatal care and 33 did not. Of those who received antenatal care, 85% were immunized and 15% mothers who did not receive antenatal care were also immunized. Majority of women with antenatal care have had regular monitoring of blood pressure, weight monitoring, blood and urine tests during pregnancy. Forty seven percent mothers with antenatal care had spontaneous vaginal delivery with episiotomy as compared to 57.6% mothers without antenatal care who were delivered by caesarean section. Ninety seven percent and 85% newborns were delivered alive in the two groups respectively. Among mothers who received antenatal care, 87% had satisfactory pregnancy outcome and 13% had unsatisfactory outcome. Conclusions: Pregnancy outcome in women taking antenatal care is far better and healthy than those without antenatal care. Policy message: Awareness about the effectiveness of antenatal care in safe mother and child delivery should be enhanced through various methods including media.

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