Risk factors associated with late entry to antenatal care visits in NSW in 2014

Antenatal care (ANC) enables early detection and treatment of adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Fewer antenatal visits and delayed entry to ANC in particular, hinders timely and important health advice and education and benefit from screening tests.The definition of ‘late entry’ varies. Consistent with the World Health Organization's guidelines, the US and UK recommend ANC starts within 12 weeks of pregnancy. In Australia, the states and territories have varying definitions. The 2012 Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines on Antenatal Care recommend the first visit be within the first 10 weeks of gestation. NSW Health reports late entry from 14 weeks.The NSW Perinatal Data Collection (PDC) records perinatal information, including ANC, on all women giving birth in NSW. In 2011, a stricter definition of ANC was introduced to the PDC with the revised question, “Duration of pregnancy at first comprehensive booking or assessment by clinician”. Using the latest PDC, we examined the effect of this revised question on ANC and identified risk factors for late entry.