Antenatal Care

Introduction (cont.)
Antenatal care traditionally involves a number of 'routine' visits for assessment, to a variety of healthcare professionals, on a regular basis throughout the pregnancy. This approach to antenatal care evolved as an art in an era that preceded the current, evidence-based approach to medicine.

Early monitoring and on-going care during pregnancy is associated with more favourable birth outcomes. Compared with no antenatal surveillance, some antenatal care has a beneficial effect on affect on adverse factors such as preterm delivery, low birth weight, maternal and perinatal mortality. While some traditional practices, such as strict weight-gain restriction, the use of diuretics and the liberal use of x-rays, have been discontinued, many current clinical practices fail to stand up to scientific scrutiny. Despite this, antenatal care continues to be centred about clinical assessment, with emphasis on the regularity of visits, rather than a focus on what can be achieved at key visits during the antenatal period.

Maternity care remains a mixture of both art and science, with advantages in medical technology now allowing us to focus more on the specific requirements of the mother and fetus, with an increasing drive towards the re-appraisal of current practices.