Abstract

Background: Prenatal care is represented as the main element that contributes to reducing adverse pregnancy outcomes and high maternal mortality rates. Objective: This study aims to examine the role of prenatal care in improving perinatal health outcomes. Patients and methods: This study recruited 70 women, whose ages ranged between 20-45 years, and collected their data from different hospitals in Iraq for the period from July 4, 2022, to August 17, 2023, when the women were admitted to post-partum and post-operative wards. This study recorded the women’s clinical improvement rates in terms of complications, quality of life assessment, and mortality determination. Results: Our study recorded clinical data of both mothers who underwent antenatal care and clinical data of the fetus. For maternal outcomes, gestational age was 39.5 ± 2.6 weeks; The percentage of women who underwent a cesarean section was 32.86%; the percentage of women who underwent vaginal delivery was 67.14%, and the percentage of women who had a previous pregnancy was 64.29% where some patients had hypertension with 23 women which include chronic hypertension included 5 cases, gestational hypertension got 6 cases, eclampsia got 4 cases, and preeclampsia got 8 cases. Some women gave birth to single children, including 68 women, and others gave birth to twins, including two women. The mother’s medical and surgical conditions included 23 women; uterine rupture was 2 cases; respiratory and cardiovascular disorders included only one woman, and the mortality rate for pregnant women was only 4. For fetal outcomes, our data found that birth weight (2.5-3.9) kg was the highest for the fetus at 75.71%. The sex ratio of the fetus, which includes males and females, reached 30% and 70%, with low birth weight in 10 cases; the quality of births that included live births was 67 fetuses, while the stillbirth case was three fetuses. Clinical outcomes of antenatal care, including poor quality of antenatal care, were eight mothers and five fetuses; average quality of antenatal care was 54 mothers and 56 fetuses, and good quality of antenatal care was eight mothers and nine fetuses. Conclusion: Prenatal care is essential for improving health outcomes during the perinatal period, lowering the risk of maternal and child death and complications, and enhancing the quality of life for both mothers and children