BACKGROUND Antenatal care is provided during pregnancy to save lives of mother and foetus. World Health Organization recommends four focused visits as sufficient for normal pregnancy. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to find out antenatal care practices in Tamang community of hilly areas of central Nepal. METHODS Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Tamang community of...

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization identifies depressive disorders as the second leading cause of global disease burden by 2020. However, there is a paucity of studies which examined the associated factors of antenatal depression in low-income countries. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of antenatal depression and associated factors among pregnant women in Addis Ababa, Ethiopi...

BACKGROUND In June of 2010, an antenatal ultrasound program to perform basic screening for high-risk pregnancies was introduced at a community health care center in rural Uganda. Whether the addition of ultrasound scanning to antenatal visits at the health center would encourage or discourage potential patients was unknown. Our study sought to evaluate trends in the numbers of antenatal visits ...

BACKGROUND Antenatal ultrasound scan is a widely accepted component of antenatal care. Studies have looked at the relationship between ultrasound scanning and caesarean section (CS) in certain groups of women in China. However, there are limited data on the utilization of antenatal ultrasound scanning in the general population, including its association with CS. The purpose of this study is to ...

BACKGROUND A woman's health seeking behaviour during pregnancy has been found to have significant repercussions on her wellbeing and that of her unborn child. For example, the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes and maternal death is higher among women who do not receive antenatal care. METHODS The study described the characteristics of women who reported wanted, unwanted and mistimed pregnancies...

BACKGROUND Male involvement during antenatal care is promoted to be an important intervention to increase positive maternal and new born health outcomes. Despite active promotion to stimulate male involvement during antenatal care, few men in Tanzania accompany women to their antenatal care visits. This study aims to understand perceptions, attitudes and behaviour of men regarding their role an...

BACKGROUND Obesity has been associated with increased risk of antenatal depression, but little is known about this relationship. This study tested whether socio-economic status (SES) influences the relationship between obesity and antenatal depression. METHODS Data were taken from the Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) cohort. BMI was calculated from measured height and weight at 15±1 ...

BACKGROUND Antenatal care service which is among strategies to maintain maternal and fetal wellbeing is strongly recommended to be initiated early during pregnancy. To developing world where there is uncommon practice of pre-pregnancy care and support, timely commencement is crucial in getting potential benefits from some of the elements of the care. Therefore, we sought to assess timing and fa...

In contrast to the UK, Canada and New Zealand, where general practitioner (GP) involvement in pregnancy care has decreased, GPs in Australia continue to be high providers of antenatal care.2 However, there is very little published research about the antenatal care provided by GPs in Australia. Australia has consistently had lower maternal and perinatal death rates than the majority of comparabl...

BACKGROUND The Department of Radiology at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa, has been performing fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) since 2007. Fetal MRI findings have not previously been analysed to correlate them with antenatal and postnatal findings. OBJECTIVES To determine the most common indication for fetal MRI, and to correlate antenatal MRI with antenatal ultrasound ...