This paper examined the association between individual and local level factors and the number of antenatal care visits completed by women in Colombia using data from the 2010 Colombian Demographic and Health Survey and multilevel logistic regression models. Our findings suggest that, in addition to maternal socioeconomic status, contextual factors influence whether pregnant women complete the m...

The purpose of this ethnonursing research was to systematically discover, describe, and analyze the beliefs, practices, and values of African American women related to prenatal care. The domain of inquiry was prenatal care of African American women within their familiar cultural contexts. The study was conceptualized within Leininger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality which ena...

Latina mothers in the United States enjoy surprisingly favorable birth outcomes despite their social disadvantages. This "Latina paradox" is particularly evident among Mexican-born women. The social and cultural factors that contribute to this paradox are maintained by community networks--informal systems of prenatal care that are composed of family, friends, community members, and lay health w...

OBJECTIVES We addressed the question of whether use of adequate prenatal care differs between foreign-born and Italian mothers and estimated the extent to which unobservable characteristics bias results. SETTING This study is on primary care and especially on adequate access to prenatal healthcare services by immigrant mothers. PARTICIPANTS Approximately 37,000 mothers of both Italian and f...

OBJECTIVE In 2002, the Institute of Medicine called for the introduction of information technologies in health care settings to improve quality of care. We conducted a review of hospital charts of women who delivered before and after the implementation of an intranet-based computerized prenatal record in an inner-city practice. Our objective was to assess whether the use of this record improved...

The postpartum period is a critical time to address high unmet family planning need and to reduce the risks of closely spaced pregnancies. Practical tools are included in the new resource for integrating postpartum family planning at points when women have frequent health system contact, including during antenatal care, labor and delivery, postnatal care, immunization, and child health care.

OBJECTIVE Determine the coverage rate of syphilis testing during prenatal care and the prevalence of syphilis in pregnant women in Brazil. METHODS This is a national hospital-based cohort study conducted in Brazil with 23,894 postpartum women between 2011 and 2012. Data were obtained using interviews with postpartum women, hospital records, and prenatal care cards. All postpartum women with a...

OBJECTIVE To define the prenatal care utilization pattern in Bornova and determine the factors affecting the amount and content of prenatal care. DESIGN Follow-up study. SETTING Bornova is an urban district in western Turkey. STUDY PARTICIPANTS Two hundred and forty-five pregnant women registered with primary care settings in Bornova during the year 2000. Response rate was 83.7%. Main out...

BACKGROUND Low birth weight (LBW) is one of the most important factors affecting child morbidity and mortality worldwide; approximately one third of neonatal deaths are attributable to it. Most research and public health policy on LBW arise from developed nations, despite that most cases (96.5%) take place in developing countries. The specific features of prenatal care that prevent LBW in devel...