title: When do pregnant women attend for antenatal care?
abstract: The case records of a representative sample of 313 women from four health districts in the North-east Thames Health Region were reviewed to determine the stage of pregnancy at which they contact antenatal services. Patients seeking care (when a blood specimen was obtained) after 20 weeks' gestation ranged from 6% to 26%. These women were more likely to be of higher parity and immigrants. Appreciable delays in obtaining an early blood specimen, or in referral to a hospital antenatal clinic, were due to delay by hospitals in giving appointments and, to a lesser extent, to slowness of general practitioners in referring patients or taking blood.
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D004739:England; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000175:diagnosis; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012923:Social Class; D013997:Time Factors