Table 1 Criteria for including studies in the review

Study design

Experimental or observational effectiveness evaluation, with control or comparator group

Population

Socially disadvantaged or vulnerable populations*

Other specified at risk population: teenagers, obese pregnant women, substance users, alcohol misusers, women who are HIV positive

Intervention

Intervention involving the organisation and/or delivery of:

   • comprehensive antenatal care

   • components of antenatal care provided in the context of normal antenatal care

and/or

   • Stand alone interventions involving the provision of health or social care to pregnant women delivered as an adjunct to normal antenatal care

Exclusions:

   • stand-alone interventions targeting pregnant women not delivered and/or evaluated in conjunction with standard antenatal care

   • clinical interventions, unless evaluated in the context of a broader package of antenatal care

   • interventions with a focus on labour/birth or the periconceptional period

   • interventions involving only opiate substitution

Comparator

Standard antenatal care or a specified alternative model of antenatal care

Outcome

   • Preterm birth (or "preterm labour") expressed as the number/proportion of women delivering before 37 weeks gestation (or some other cut-off point <37 weeks)

   • Any measure of neonatal/infant mortality, but excluding perinatal mortality

   • Birth prevalence of congenital anomalies

   • SIDS/SUDI

Type of publication

Journal articles reporting primary research in English and non-English language journal articles with an English Language abstract

Geographical area

OECD member countries, excluding Mexico and Turkey**

Time period

Published 1990 onwards