[Effect of prenatal care in general practice and in the clinic on the course of pregnancy and labor].

The computerized case histories of 6666 children who were born during the years 1977 and 1981 at the 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Univ. of Vienna have been evaluated for the clinical and social data of the mothers, the duration of pregnancy and the well being of the infants at delivery and during the perinatal period. A comparison of three groups according to prenatal care (I no prenatal care; II "Mutter-Kind-Pass" program; III "Mutter-Kind-Pass" program plus clinical care) showed that a complete perinatal care (group III) leads to significantly less preterm deliveries, better Apgar-scores and lower perinatal mortality. The differences between groups I and II were minimal. The prenatal care therefore can only be judged as optimal if in addiction to the "Mutter-Kind-Pass" program the diagnostic abilities of a clinic are taken advantage of on time and if the gap between the 28th and 35th week of pregnancy can be covered by additional check ups.