Editing Prenatal care (section)

==Prenatal Visits==
Traditional prenatal care in high-income countries generally consists of:
* monthly visits during the first two [[Pregnancy#Physiology|trimesters]] (from the 1st week to the 28th week)
* fortnightly visits from the 28th week to the 36th week of pregnancy
* weekly visits after 36th week to the delivery, from the 38th week to the 42nd week
* Assessment of parental needs and family dynamics

The [[World Health Organization|WHO]] recommends that pregnant women should all receive at least eight antenatal visits to spot and treat problems and give immunizations. Although antenatal care is important to improve the health of both mother and baby, many women do not receive the recommended eight visits.<ref>{{cite web|title=WHO recommendation on antenatal care contact schedules|url=https://extranet.who.int/rhl/topics/improving-health-system-performance/who-recommendation-antenatal-care-contact-schedules|access-date=July 30, 2020|website=WHO|publisher=World Health Organization}}{{dead link|date=December 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
There is little evidence behind the number of antenatal visits pregnant women receive and what care and information is given at each visit.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite journal |last1=Dowswell |first1=T |last2=Carroli |first2=G |last3=Duley |first3=L |last4=Gates |first4=S |last5=Gülmezoglu |first5=AM |last6=Khan-Neelofur |first6=D |last7=Piaggio |first7=G |date=16 July 2015 |title=Alternative versus standard packages of antenatal care for low-risk pregnancy. |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |volume=2015 |issue=7 |pages=CD000934 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD000934.pub3 |pmc=7061257 |pmid=26184394}}</ref> It has been suggested that women who have low-risk pregnancies should have fewer antenatal visits.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> However, when this was tested, women with fewer visits had babies who were much more likely to be admitted to neonatal intensive care and stay there for longer (though this could be down to chance results).<ref name="ReferenceB" /> 

A 2015 Cochrane Review findings buttresses this notion, with evidence that in settings with limited resources, where the number of visits is already low, programmes of ANC with reduced visits are associated with an increase in perinatal mortality.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Therefore, it is doubtful that the reduced visits model is ideal, even in low-income countries (LICs), where pregnant women are already attending fewer appointments.<ref name=":0" /> Not only is visiting prenatal care early is highly recommended, but also a more flexible pathway allowing more visits, from the time a pregnant woman books for prenatal care, as it potentially enables more attention to those women who come late.<ref name=":0" /> Also, women who had fewer antenatal visits were not as satisfied with the care they received compared with women who had the standard number of visits.<ref name="ReferenceB" />