Objective: To determine which groups are at high-risk for inadequate use of prenatal care in Russia and Ukraine, to specify the effective methods of intervention. Methods: Data on 15-44 year-old women with a birth since January 1994, came from Reproductive Health Surveys carried out in Russia and Ukraine in 1999. Multistage cluster design used to select representative samples of respondents. Face-to-face interviews were completed with 6,004 women in Russia and 7,128 women in Ukraine. All results weighted in order to make the samples representative of the populations surveyed. Results: Four percent of Russian women and 10% of Ukrainian women did not receive prenatal care. Additionally, 13% of Russian women and 23% of Ukrainian women initiated prenatal care during the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Among those who started prenatal care promptly, about 5% in Russia and 12% in Ukraine had an inadequate number of prenatal visits. Inadequate prenatal care was more prevalent among rural women, over 35 years old, and with two or more births. Respondents with no prenatal care gave birth to low birth weight infants twice as often, as those who had prenatal care. The majority of women used government facilities for prenatal care. Conclusions: The reinforcement of efforts of obstetric care providers in targeting the groups at high risk for inadequate utilization of prenatal care can help to promote improved pregnancy and infant health outcomes and to decrease prenatal morbidity and mortality.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participants will be able to: 1.Recognize the frequency of inadequate prenatal care in Russia and Ukraine 2.Identify groups of women at high risk for an inadequate prenatal care 3 Define the strategy to promote improved pregnancy and infant health outcomes and to decrease prenatal morbidity and mortality in Russia and Ukraine
Keywords: Prenatal Care, International MCH
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.