Antenatal care services and its implications for vital and health outcomes of children: evidence from 193 surveys in 69 low-income and middle-income countries.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Antenatal care (ANC) is an essential part of primary healthcare and its provision has expanded worldwide. There is limited evidence of large-scale cross-country studies on the impact of ANC offered to pregnant women on child health outcomes. We investigate the association of ANC in low-income and middle-income countries with short- and long-term mortality and nutritional child outcomes.

Setting

We used nationally representative health and welfare data from 193 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1990 and 2013 from 69 low-income and middle-income countries for women of reproductive age (15-49 years), their children and their respective household.

Participants

The analytical sample consisted of 752 635 observations for neonatal mortality, 574 675

SUBMITTER: Kuhnt J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5695442 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature