Antenatal care, defined as the care provided to an expectant mother by health care professionals from the time the pregnancy is confirmed until the onset of labour, has long been recognised as an effective way of maximising positive birth outcomes for pregnant women and their babies.

The failure to start antenatal care within the first pregnancy trimester and the low uptake of antenatal appointments is indicated to be linked to poor outcomes for mothers and babies.

Existing evidence suggests that Women from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds are significantly more likely to initiate antenatal care later than recommended gestational week compared to White women.

Late and differential access to antenatal care has been posited as a plausible explanatory factor for excess mortality and severe morbidity and among mothers from ethnic minority groups compared to White British women in the UK as elsewhere.

This work is supported by Wellbeing of Women in partnership with the Burdett Trust for Nursing (RG2245).