22. Routine antenatal care, antenatal testing and foetal therapy

Antenatal care (ANC) comprises care in pregnancy for the woman and her foetus. The aim of ANC is to promote the best possible biological, emotional and social outcome of pregnancy for the mother and her child. This chapter is a description of routine and specialised antenatal care such as testing for abnormalities of the foetus and foetal therapy that may be offered to every pregnant woman, aiming to promote health and the best possible pregnancy outcome, and to prevent gestational disease and adverse outcome. Care for specific groups of pregnant women, such as women with early pregnancy disorders, gestational disease or chronic maternal disease, is described elsewhere in this book in Chap. 25 and 28 whereas preconception and periconception care are described in Chap. 8.