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The Government of the Republic of Zambia recognizes that the antenatal period is a critical period for the provision of life saving interventions as it provides an ideal platform for the provision of integrated, quality services for pregnant women and adolescents. It is for this reason that the Ministry of Health is making concerted efforts to scale-up high impact maternal and neonatal interventions that have the potential to significantly decrease maternal, newborn and child mortality. These efforts include the development of the ANC guidelines for a positive pregnancy experience that are presented in this document.

These guidelines are part of the Government’s wider efforts to redesign ANC into an integrated service delivery point (including malaria, HIV, tuberculosis) and to strengthen health systems across the Country. They are aligned to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2016 recommendations on routine antenatal care (ANC) contacts for pregnant women and adolescent girls that provide a framework for the provision and experience of care that facilitates a positive pregnancy experience.

This document therefore provides comprehensive guidance on  routine antenatal care (ANC) for pregnant women and adolescent girls in Zambia and as such I urge all health care providers (including obstetricians, midwives, nurses, and general medical practitioners) who are responsible for providing ANC at all levels of the health care provision strata, especially in resource constrained settings to use these guidelines as part of their efforts to contribute to improved maternal and neonatal outcomes in Zambia.