Antenatal care coverage (%)

Rationale for use

Antenatal care coverage is an indicator of access and utilization of health care during pregnancy.

Definition Percentage of women who utilized antenatal care provided by skilled health personnel
for reasons related to pregnancy at least once during pregnancy as a percentage of live births in
a given time period.

Associated terms

Antenatal care constitutes screening for health and socio-economic conditions likely to increase
the possibility of specific adverse pregnancy outcomes, providing therapeutic interventions known
to be effective; and educating pregnant women about planning for safe birth, emergencies during
pregnancy and how to deal with them.
Skilled birth attendant (see Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel).
Live birth (see Probability of dying under age 5 years).
Data sources Household surveys: Birth history - detailed questions on the last child or all
children a woman has given birth to during a given period preceding the survey (usually 3 to 5
years), and women are asked about the use of antenatal care. The number of live births to
women surveyed provides the denominator.
Routine health service statistics: Number of women receiving antenatal care (numerator).
Census projections or in some cases vital registration data are used to provide the denominator
(numbers of live births).

Methods of estimation

Empirical data from household surveys are used. At global level, facility data are not used.

Disaggregation By location (urban/rural, major regions/provinces) and socio-economic

characteristics (e.g. women’s education level, wealth quintile).

References

- Coverage of maternity care. A listing of available information, Fourth edition. Geneva, World
Health Organization, 1996.

- World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund. Antenatal care in developing
countries. Promises, achievements and missed opportunities. Geneva, World Health
Organization, 2003.

- The World Health Report 2005: Make every mother and child count. Annex Table 8. Geneva,
World Health Organization, 2005. (http://www.who.int/whr/2005/en/index.html)
Reproductive Health Indicators: Guidelines for their generation, interpretation and analysis for
global monitoring. (in press). Geneva, World Health Organization, 2006.

Database

- Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS): (http://www.measuredhs.com)

Comments
A single antenatal visit does not give information about the components or quality of the care
provided. Additional indicators such as the number of visits (at least four per pregnancy are

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recommended) and the timing of the first visit may be more useful, although these also do not
indicate the content of the care.

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