Abstract
Background: Pakistan’s population is estimated to be 160,943,000. It ranks third among the ten high burden
countries and accounts for up to 7% of worldwide neonatal deaths. According to the Pakistan’s World Health
Organization (WHO 2010) health profile, only 28% of Pakistani women have used ante natal care services
(4 plus visits), whilst 39% of reported births in Pakistan had used skilled birth attendant services, whereas
59% fell within the WHO’s regional average. There is also a significant disparity, reported by the WHO, in
terms of inequity between the poor and the rich in the use of skilled birth attendant services: 16% and 77
% respectively.
Objective: This ethnographic study explores the perceptions about the need for antenatal care (ANC) in a
disadvantaged population in Pakistan.