Funded by Wellbeing of Women in partnership with the Burdett Trust for Nursing, the ‘Enhancing Antenatal Care Uptake’ project (EnhANCe) has been developed using the findings of a new report based on the analysis of anonymous data collected about births in the local area, conducted by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the University of Bedfordshire, University College London, City University of London and Luton & Dunstable University Hospital. 

This report – published last month in the BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth journal– highlighted the need to intensify targeted programmes and services to support mothers from ethnic minority groups in areas that are known to have high levels of social deprivation, to start antenatal care on time. One fifth of mothers from these areas were found to be at greater risk of delaying seeking antenatal care to later on in their pregnancy which is not recommended, with most late initiation being amongst non-White British women.

Based on these findings, researchers argue that ethnic diversity and levels of social disadvantage should be taken into consideration while planning accessible pregnancy services and programmes to ensure fair maternity care provision.

Dr Shuby Puthussery, EnhANCe project lead and Director of the Maternal & Child Health Research Centre (MCHRC) at Bedfordshire’s Institute for Health Research (IHR), said: “Antenatal care has long been recognised as an effective way of maximising positive health outcomes for pregnant women and their babies. The timely initiation of antenatal care is a key measure of maternity care access in general and our findings demonstrate the need for sustained efforts to identify and support women from ethnic minority groups in socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods who are likely to start antenatal care later than the recommended ten weeks of pregnancy.”

The EnhANCe project incorporates a range of accessible and informative community-based initiatives which are aimed at ethnically diverse or socially disadvantage women, run by trained Antenatal Care Champions and a lead Research Midwife, Esther Sharma. She said: “The need to address disparities in maternal and neonatal health outcomes is urgent.  We know that antenatal care can play a key part, not only in the physical health of a mother and new-born, but also in overall wellbeing.

“By embedding our team in the local community, we have been able to speak with large numbers of people from a wide-range of contexts to communicate the key messages about the importance of antenatal care and how to access it. We’re sure our efforts will make a significant contribution to increasing timely initiation and optimum uptake of antenatal care.”

Jeremy Barratt, Head of Research at Wellbeing of Women, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with the Burdett Trust for Nursing to fund this study and start to address the disparity of antenatal care uptake and the impact on pregnancy outcomes, which we hope will lead to a change of policy at a national level.

“This research has the potential to provide important information that could ultimately lead to essential changes in antenatal care uptake by ethnically diverse and socially disadvantaged mothers and, in turn, will help improve their wellbeing and the overall health of their babies who could be at risk.”