The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AGOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) suggested the topic of antenatal care to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for systematic review.
Antenatal care is accessed by four million women annually. Antenatal care can improve the health and wellbeing of pregnant patients and their babies through medical screening and treatment, anticipatory guidance, and provide psychosocial support.
The research protocol discusses how today, the specific aspects for delivering antenatal care as related to frequency and timing of visits using telemedicine for women with uncomplicated pregnancies. However, the information is still not clear.
Today, in the U.S, current recommendations include 12 to 14 office-based visits for low risk pregnant patients in addition to laboratory testing and ultrasounds. Notably, the overall number and cadency of visits has remained unchanged since the schedule was first published by the Children’s Bureau in 1930 which suggests monthly visits until 28 weeks, every 2 weeks until 36 weeks, and weekly until delivery.
However, since 1989, several U.S. based and international clinical practice guidelines for antenatal care delivery along with the use of telemedicine, have recommended fewer antenatal visits (6-9) but most U.S practices have not changed.
Telemedicine is a relatively new approach to routine antenatal care.. The potential benefits and harms, or concerns related to using telemedicine, as opposed to in-person care, have yet to be determined for routine antenatal care.
The pandemic increased the urgency for determining the ideal timing and frequency of prenatal care. As a result, it is necessary to understand which visits are acceptable to be carried out via telemedicine focusing on maternal and child outcomes and maternal preferences.
The review of the antenatal topic will summarize findings from previous studies as to the effectiveness of antenatal care schedules, studies of the effectiveness of telemedicine for antenatal care for uncomplicated pregnancies, ideas related to the frequency and timing of antenatal care visits, and telemedicine approaches to prenatal care. The research review is intended to help guideline developers, clinicians and other providers of antenatal care, healthcare policy makers, and patients.
Go to https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov for information on AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program.