Antenatal and Postnatal Care

A successful transition from the antenatal to the postnatal period requires early dis-ease detection, management, and prevention; health promotion; birth preparedness; and complication readiness. This review discussed patient-centered ANC and PNC focused on ensuring a culturally sensitive and positive pregnancy and postnatal expe-rience. Maternal and newborn health are dynamic during pregnancy and after birth, and shared decision-making should form an integral component of care. Conse-quently, women, their newborns, and families require appropriate dignified and evidence-based person-centered care based on a human rights approach. Person -centered care is an enduring process in the continuum of MNC. Context-specific ANC and PNC may be required in some settings. Typically, ANC and PNC are orga-nized during health facility visits in many settings. Services and support are women centered and can be offered as individualized or group-based care. The challenge of ANC and PNC is determining its core components and underpinning them with ev-idence without overmedicalizing its practice.