Antenatal Care Consultations Research Articles

Costing maternal health services in South Tanzania

The following paper presents the methodology and results of a costing exercise of maternal health services in Tanzania. The main objective of this study was to determine the actual costs of antenatal and obstetric care in different health institutions in a district in Tanzania as a basis of more efficient resource allocation. A costing tool was developed that allows the calculation of costs of service units, such as deliveries and antenatal care, and separates these costs from the costs of other services. Time consumed by each activity was used as an allocation key. For that purpose, we recorded the personnel consumption with different time-study methodologies. This approach was tested and implemented in Mtwara Urban District, South Tanzania. The results were analyzed by a spreadsheet program. The paper presents average costs for different costing units of maternal care. Among other findings, we found that the cost of a normal vaginal delivery is US $12.30 in a dispensary and US $6.30 in the hospital--a result that needs explanation, as usually one would expect that hospitals are more cost-intensive than first-line facilities. However, dispensaries are grossly underutilized so that the costs per service unit are rather high. The cost for surgical delivery (only in hospitals) was found to be US $69.26 and the average cost per antenatal care consultation (only at dispensaries) was US $2.50. We conclude that improved planning of elective services is a prerequisite for more effective and efficient use of personnel resources. In addition, the definition of medically and economically sound standards, in particular staffing standards, is critical to make cost analysis an effective management tool to guide rational resource allocation.

The use of antenatal services in health centres of Fès, Morocco

SummaryMorocco has reported important achievements in coverage for mother and child healthcare services. Nevertheless, client-use and quality of antenatal care (ANC) services need to be improved. The aim was to identify factors related to the use of ANC services through a cross-sectional survey among women attending an urban maternity hospital in Fès. We describe quality of ANC services assessed in six health centres through pre-established national checklists. Of 240 women interviewed in postnatal wards, 23% had not undertaken any ANC consultation during their last pregnancy. The main characteristics of women not using ANC services were being multiparous (OR: 2.7; CI: 1.5 – 4, 8) and having no formal schooling (OR: 3.7; CI: 2.2 – 6.4). These women stated three main reasons: (1) did not find it necessary (46.9%); (2) health centre too far away (14%); (3) dissatisfied about the quality of care (12%). Evaluation of the quality of care showed a shortage of personnel and basic supplies and malfunctions were identified at various levels. In the region of Fès, there is a need to strengthen ANC and overall maternal health activities through community mobilisation and information and education. We recommend that the WHO ANC protocol (less ANC visits with emphasis on quality) be pilot tested in Morocco.

Antenatal care in singleton pregnancies after ICSI as compared to spontaneous conception: data from a prospective controlled cohort study in Germany

The aim was to compare the antenatal care and the intake of vitamins and medications of infertility patients with singleton pregnancies after ICSI to women with a spontaneously conceived singleton pregnancy. The data on the antenatal care of 2055 singleton pregnancies after ICSI from a prospective controlled multicentre study in Germany were analysed. The prospectively collected data of the control group of 7861 singletons were retrospectively assessed for the present analysis. The ICSI patients were significantly older (32.9 versus 27.0 years, P<0.019) and more likely to be obese (body mass index>or=30 kg/m2: 13.9 versus 4.8%, P<0.001) than the controls. The control mothers were significantly more likely to smoke (19.2%) or to consume alcohol (23.5%) during pregnancy than the ICSI mothers (7.4 and 0.6% respectively). Only 38.1% of ICSI patients took folic acid before conception. Only 61.7% of ICSI patients received an iodine supplementation at some point during pregnancy. ICSI patients went more regularly to the routine antenatal care consultations at the gynaecologist and had ultrasound examinations performed more regularly than the controls. The absolute number of ultrasound examinations was significantly higher in the ICSI group (13.6+/-6.0 versus 4.1+/-2.4). In spite of the intensive use of antenatal medical care by patients pregnant after ICSI, simple methods, such as the use of supplementary iodine and periconceptional folic acid, were used rarely. This indicates that counselling pregnant patients after ICSI about periconceptional and antenatal care seems to be insufficient in Germany and must be improved.

Risk factors of stillbirths in Fortaleza-Brazil: a case-control study

Stillbirths are a common event in areas where reproductive health care is poorly delivered, such as the Northeast region of Brazil. This case-control study aimed to identify risk factors associated to foetal deaths occurred in a major obstetric facility of Fortaleza, 1.7 million inhabitants, Northeastern Brazil. 125 stillborn foetus over 20 weeks of gestation (cases) were compared to 250 healthy newborns (controls), in relation to socioeconomic, reproductive, behavioral and morbidity characteristics of their mothers. Crude and adjusted Odds Ratios were then calculated. After adjustment for confounders, the following characteristics of the mother remained as risk factors for stillbirths, with OR statistically significant at the 95% level: attending <5 antenatal consultations during pregnancy (OR=3.30; CI=1.92 - 5.07 ), illiterate mother (OR=3.30; CI=1.84 - 5.92 ), mother's age above 19 (OR=2.73; CI=1.42 - 5.24 ), monthly family income of 1 minimum wage or less (OR=2.12; CI=1.03 - 4.35 ) and severe illnesses or complication during pregnancy (OR=1.75; CI=1.01 - 3.03 ). Inadequate attendance to antenatal care consultations was the risk factor most strongly associated to stillbirths. Similarly, it was the condition most amenable to change in a short term, among those identified as risk factors.