What it is
Antenatal care is the health care a woman receives during pregnancy from skilled health personnel — a doctor, nurse or midwife. It is largely preventive. Where services are available and of adequate quality, antenatal contacts can identify conditions while they remain treatable, deliver interventions appropriate to pregnancy, and prepare a woman and her health provider for the birth.
Why it matters
What antenatal care can provide
- 01Early detection of complicationsSome serious pregnancy complications may initially produce few or no noticeable symptoms and require clinical screening to detect. Blood pressure measurement can identify hypertensive disorders, and blood testing can detect syphilis and severe anaemia.
- 02Preventive services during pregnancyAntenatal contacts can provide micronutrient supplementation and immunization against tetanus. In areas where malaria is endemic, health personnel can also provide preventive medication and insecticide-treated nets.
- 03A route into further careAntenatal care can include HIV testing and medication to prevent transmission to the child, and support for birth planning. Women who do not receive antenatal care may reach childbirth without having received recommended screening, counselling or birth-planning support.
- 04Information and supportAntenatal contacts are an opportunity to discuss healthy behaviours during pregnancy and the warning signs that require urgent care. They can also provide social, emotional and psychological support during pregnancy.
Where we are
Coverage is lower for four or more visits than for a first contact
According to UNICEF global estimates, 85.5 per cent of pregnant women receive antenatal care from skilled health personnel at least once. Around 71.5 per cent receive four or more antenatal care visits.
The difference between these two measures is 14 percentage points. It indicates that a share of women who begin antenatal care do not go on to receive the recommended sequence of contacts, though the two indicators are defined differently and are not observed in a single group of women.
Coverage of four or more visits has risen over the past two decades, from 58.4 per cent in 2008 to 71.5 per cent in 2025. Progress differs by region, and coverage remains lowest in several regions with the highest maternal mortality.
The antenatal care cascade. Each step represents a higher intensity of care than the last. Select a step to see coverage and how it compares with the step before it.
71.5%coverage
14 percentage points lower than at least one visit
MNCH global aggregates, February 2026
Each step is a separate coverage estimate. Differences are shown in percentage points between estimates: the indicators use different provider definitions and are not observed in a single group of women, so the cascade should not be read as individual women leaving the pathway.
Change over time
Change over time
Coverage of four or more antenatal care visits, globally. Estimates are pooled across multi-year periods rather than annual, so the points are comparison periods rather than a continuous series.
Progress towards the 2030 target
Coverage of four or more antenatal care visits against the global target of 90 per cent by 2030.
Target: Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE) coverage targets — 90/90/80/80 by 2030, launched by WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA. Coverage: MNCH global aggregates, February 2026.
By region
Coverage of four or more visits, by region
Percentage of women with a live birth who received antenatal care four or more times.
- Latin America and Caribbeanseveral countries above 90%90%
- Global70%
- South Asia58%
- West and Central Africa57%
Country-level coverage varies more widely, from under 30 per cent in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa to over 90 per cent in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Source: UNICEF global databases; West and Central Africa figure for 2023.
Equity
Differences by residence and household wealth
Regional and global averages can conceal substantial differences between population groups within countries.
- Urban81%
- Rural64.2%
- Richest fifth83.7%
- Poorest fifth48.2%
Source: MNCH global and regional aggregates, February 2026 release.
What is measured
Global monitoring has not yet fully aligned with the eight-contact recommendation
In 2016 WHO updated its recommendation from a minimum of four antenatal care visits to a minimum of eight contacts, in order to reduce perinatal mortality and improve women's experience of care.
Internationally comparable estimates are currently available primarily for four or more visits, because that is what household survey programmes have collected. The four-visit indicator therefore does not measure coverage of the current recommendation. Data collection is being extended, and estimates for eight or more contacts are expected to become available.
- Antenatal care coverage (at least one visit)
- The percentage of women aged 15–49 with a live birth in a given period who received antenatal care from skilled health personnel at least once during pregnancy.
- Antenatal care coverage (at least four visits)
- The percentage of women aged 15–49 with a live birth in a given period who received antenatal care four or more times. Available survey data usually do not specify the type of provider, so receipt of care from any provider is measured.
- Skilled health personnel
- Accredited health professionals — such as a midwife, doctor or nurse — educated and trained to manage uncomplicated pregnancy and childbirth, and to identify, manage and refer complications. Traditional birth attendants, whether trained or not, are excluded.
Read these figures with care
- Receiving antenatal care does not guarantee receipt of the interventions that improve maternal and newborn health. Coverage records attendance, not the content of care.
- Coverage figures do not take into account the skill level of the provider or the quality of the care given, both of which can influence whether care improves outcomes.
- The two headline indicators are defined differently. Coverage of at least one visit refers to skilled health personnel; coverage of four or more visits refers to any provider, because survey programmes do not record the provider for each visit.
- The definition of skilled health personnel can differ between countries because training and accreditation differ, which affects comparability.
- Most estimates derive from household surveys conducted every three to five years, so a figure for a single year is generally modelled rather than directly observed.
Where to get the data
Where to find the data
References
- WHO, WHO recommendations on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience, Geneva, 2016.
- UNICEF, The State of the World's Children 2024, New York, 2024.
- UNICEF, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies: Taking stock of maternal health, New York, 2019.
- WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and UN Population Division, Trends in Maternal Mortality: 2000 to 2020, Geneva, 2023.
Related topics
Copy last reviewed July 2026.