Antenatal care coverage is an indicator of access and use of health care during pregnancy. The antenatal period presents opportunities for reaching pregnant women with interventions that may be vital to their health and wellbeing and that of their infants. Receiving antenatal care at least four times, as recommended by WHO, increases the likelihood of receiving effective maternal health interventions during antenatal visits. This is an MDG indicator.
Definition:
The percentage of women aged 15-19 with a live birth in a given time period that received antenatal care provided by skilled health personnel (doctors, nurses, or midwives) at least once during pregnancy.
Numerator:
The number of women aged 15-19 with a live birth in a given time period that received antenatal care provided by skilled health personnel (doctors, nurses or midwives) at least once during pregnancy
Denominator:
Total number of women aged 15-19 with a live birth in the same period.
Method of measurement
The number of women aged 15-19 with a live birth in a given time period that received antenatal care provided by skilled health personnel (doctors, nurses or midwives) at least once during pregnancy is expressed as a percentage of women aged 15-19 with a live birth in the same period:
(Number of women aged 15-19 attended at least once during pregnancy by skilled health personnel for reasons related to the pregnancy/ Total number of women aged 15-19 with a live birth) *100
The indicators of antenatal care (at least one visit and at least four visits) are based on standard questions that ask if, how many times, and by whom the health of the woman was checked during pregnancy.
M&E Framework:
Outcome
Method of estimation:
The data compiled here are from the nationally representative Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).
Predominant type of statistics: adjusted
Method of estimation of global and regional aggregates:
WHO produce regional and global estimates. These are based on population-weighted averages weighted by the total number of births. These estimates are presented only if available data cover at least 50% of total births in the regional or global groupings.
Other possible data sources:
Facility reporting system
Preferred data sources:
Household surveys
Expected frequency of data dissemination:
Annual
Comments:
WHO recommends a standard model of four antenatal visits based on a review of the effectiveness of different models of antenatal care. WHO guidelines are specific on the content of antenatal care visits, which should include clinical examination, blood testing to detect syphilis & severe anemia (and others such as HIV, malaria as necessary according to the epidemiological context), gestational age estimation, uterine height, blood pressure taken, maternal weight / height, detection of sexually transmitted infections (STI)s, urine test (multiple dipstick) performed, blood type and Rh requested, tetanus toxoid given, iron / Folic acid supplementation provided, recommendation for emergencies / hotline for emergencies.
ANC coverage figures should be closely followed together with a set of other related indicators, such as proportion of deliveries attended by a skilled health worker or deliveries occurring in health facilities, and disaggregated by background characteristics, to identify target populations and planning of actions accordingly.
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