Disparity in prenatal care in Europe

Objective: The purpose of the study was to compare prenatal care attendance in European Union countries, Hungary and Norway. Study Design: We analysed live births or deliveries from national registers in five countries, national surveys in five countries, and regional register or surveys in three countries. Results: The frequency of no prenatal care was lower than 0.5% in 10 countries, 0.9% in Hungary, 2.1% in Greece and 2.6% in Portugal. Late prenatal care varied from 3.1% in Finland to 29.2% in Ireland. Late care among women with parity 4 and more varied from 7.7% in Finland to 41.5% in Hungary. Among women under 20 years old, late care varied from 11.8% in Finland to 39.5% in Portugal. The median number of prenatal visits varied from seven in Greece to 14 in Finland. Conclusion: Prenatal care attendance varies widely among European countries. Late attendance is frequent in many countries. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.