Chapters authored
Basic Antenatal Care Approach to Antenatal Care Service Provision
Globally, antenatal care is advocated as the cornerstone for reducing children’s deaths and improving maternal health. The basic antenatal care approach is used in the public health institutions in South Africa to provide healthcare services to the pregnant women. The basic antenatal care approach is a modified version of the focused antenatal care approach that was recommended by researchers during 2001 and adopted by the World Health Organisation in 2002 following realisation that traditional antenatal care programmes that were meant for developed countries were poorly implemented and largely ineffective when used in developing countries. The basic antenatal care approach is listed as one of the priority interventions for reducing maternal and child mortality in the country and is recommended as the minimum level of antenatal care that every pregnant woman should receive. Every site where pregnant women make contact with healthcare services should provide antenatal care services daily using this approach so that the first antenatal care visit consultation takes place as soon as the pregnancy has been confirmed or the very first time that a pregnant woman visits a health facility. The introductions of the basic antenatal care approach have been a positive milestone for South Africa.
Part of the book: Selected Topics in Midwifery Care