The antenatal period presents important opportunities for reaching pregnant women with a number of interventions that may be vital to their health and well-being and that of their infants.

Regular contact with a doctor, nurse or midwife allows health personnel to manage the pregnancy and provide a variety of services, which can include tetanus immunization, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, micronutrient supplementation, and information about danger signs during pregnancy and childbirth. The antenatal period also provides an opportunity to supply information on birth spacing, which is recognized as an important factor in improving infant survival.

According to the latest estimates, 77 per cent of women in the developing world receive antenatal care from a skilled health provider at least once during pregnancy. Around 9 in 10 pregnant women are attended at least once in Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS), and East Asia and the Pacific. In the Middle East and North Africa and in Sub-Saharan Africa, 72 per cent of women receive antenatal care from a trained provider.