Bibliographic Info
GuidelineWHO recommendations on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience
Year of Publication2016
Issuing InstitutionWHO
Recommendation
Status
Updated
Recommendation in research context
Only in research contexts
Certainty of evidence
Low
Group antenatal care provided by qualified health-care professionals may be offered as an alternative to individual antenatal care for pregnant women in the context of rigorous research, depending on a woman’s preferences and provided that the infrastructure and resources for delivery of group antenatal care are available
Notes and Remarks
- 1.With the group ANC model, the first visit for all pregnant women is an individual visit. Then at subsequent visits, the usual individual pregnancy health assessment, held in a private examination area, is integrated into a group ANC session, with facilitated educational activities and peer support.
- 2.Health-care facilities need to be seeing sufficient numbers of pregnant women, as allocation to groups is ideally performed according to gestational age.
- 3.Health-care providers need to have appropriate facilities to deal with group sessions, including access to large, well ventilated rooms or sheltered spaces with adequate seating. A private space should be available for examinations, and opportunities should be given for private conversations.
- 4.Group ANC may take longer than individual ANC, and this may pose practical problems for some women in terms of work and childcare. Health-care providers should be able to offer a variety of time slots for group sessions (morning, afternoon, evening) and should consider making individual care available as well.
- 5.The GDG noted that group ANC may have acceptability and feasibility issues in settings where perceived differences keep people apart, e.g. women from different castes in India may not wish to be in a group together.
- 6.Group ANC studies are under way in Nepal, Uganda and five other low-income countries, and the GDG was informed by a GDG member that some of these studies are due to report soon. Core outcomes of studies of group ANC should include maternal and perinatal health outcomes, coverage, and women's and providers' experiences.