ArticleBMJ open2017
Antenatal care services and its implications for vital and health outcomes of children: evidence from 193 surveys in 69 low-income and middle-income countries.
Article in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 223 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
223 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Modifiable risk factors for anemia in pregnancy: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Pooled it
- Understanding care-seeking of pregnant women from underserved groups: a systematic review and meta-ethnography.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Worldwide evidence about infant stunting from a public health perspective: A systematic review.Biomedica : revista del Instituto Nacional de Salud · 2021Pooled it
- Maternal Education and Low Birth Weight in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Maternal and child health journal · 2021Pooled it
- Stunting in childhood: an overview of global burden, trends, determinants, and drivers of decline.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2020Pooled it
- e-income countries from a provider's perspective: a systematic review.BMJ global health · 2020Pooled it
- Group antenatal care positively transforms the care experience: Results of an effectiveness trial in Malawi.PloS one · 2025Trial
- Trial
- New Antenatal Model in Africa and India (NAMAI) study: implementation research to improve antenatal care using WHO recommendations.Health research policy and systems · 2023Trial
- Individual-, household- and community-level determinants of infant mortality in Ethiopia.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Health interventions and stakeholder roles in neonatal mortality reduction within low-income countries: A scoping review.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- Health insurance expansion for migrants and maternal, perinatal, and infant health outcomes in Colombia: a national cohort study (2013-2020).Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Article
- Factors associated with early obstetric ultrasound uptake at a tertiary hospital in Northern Uganda: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Preparing the Health Workforce for Digital Antenatal Care: A COM-B-Informed Workshop Using the WHO Digital Adaptation Kit Integration in Cameroon.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Factors associated with utilisation of antenatal care visit services in Nepal: evidence from Demographic and Health Survey 2016-2022.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Machine learning approaches to predict maternal anemia and Identifying associated factors among pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- Measuring antenatal care timing and content across 131 low-income and middle-income countries, 1995-2023: a systematic analysis of trends.The Lancet. Global health · 2026Article
- A retrospective review of screening for HIV, syphilis and anaemia on first antenatal care visits at a midwife-run obstetric unit in South Africa.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2026Article
- Utilization of antenatal care services among pregnant women in an urban informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Article
163 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesAntenatal care (ANC) is an essential part of primary healthcare and its provision has expanded worldwide. There is limited evidence of large-scale cross-country studies on the impact of ANC offered to pregnant women on child health outcomes. We investigate the association of ANC in low-income and middle-income countries with short- and long-term mortality and nutritional child outcomes.
settingWe used nationally representative health and welfare data from 193 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1990 and 2013 from 69 low-income and middle-income countries for women of reproductive age (15-49 years), their children and their respective household.
participantsThe analytical sample consisted of 752 635 observations for neonatal mortality, 574 675 observations for infant mortality, 400 426 observations for low birth weight, 501 484 observations for stunting and 512 424 observations for underweight. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Outcome variables are neonatal and infant mortality, low birth weight, stunting and underweight.
resultsAt least one ANC visit was associated with a 1.04% points reduced probability of neonatal mortality and a 1.07% points lower probability of infant mortality. Having at least four ANC visits and having at least once seen a skilled provider reduced the probability by an additional 0.56% and 0.42% points, respectively. At least one ANC visit is associated with a 3.82% points reduced probability of giving birth to a low birth weight baby and a 4.11 and 3.26% points reduced stunting and underweight probability. Having at least four ANC visits and at least once seen a skilled provider reduced the probability by an additional 2.83%, 1.41% and 1.90% points, respectively.
conclusionsThe currently existing and accessed ANC services in low-income and middle-income countries are directly associated with improved birth outcomes and longer-term reductions of child mortality and malnourishment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.