title: Patterns of antenatal care in low-versus high-risk pregnancies in Lebanon.
abstract: We studied patterns of antenatal care in low- versus high-risk pregnancies in Lebanon comparing 538 women after delivery in urban Beirut with rural Baka'a. Most women had 9 antenatal care visits with an obstetrician, starting in the first trimester. Care for high-risk and low-risk pregnancies was similar in terms of type of provider, number of visits and timing of first visit. More high-risk women had advice about special diets, supplements and laboratory tests. Maternal and fetal outcomes showed that, controlling for area and pregnancy risk, more antenatal visits were associated with fewer preterm deliveries, more caesarean sections and fewer cases of postpartum depression. Overall, differences between risk groups were small.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Behaviour and Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: El-Kak
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chaaya
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaddour
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D009721:Nurse Midwives / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000453:epidemiology; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010298:Parity; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk / Q000523:psychology; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data