For years, prenatal care has been recognized as a component of obstetrical care; however, until the latter half of the twentieth century it has been relatively limited. In the 1970s and 1980s studies showed that an investment in earlier and more comprehensive prenatal care resulted in a cost savings by decreasing preterm births and delivery complications. Over the past 20 years, as technology and the Human Genome Project have impacted medical care, the scope of prenatal care has also changed. Originally, obstetrical care was directed at minimizing maternal and infant death associated with delivery and the immediate postpartum period. Gradually, efforts to prevent the development of prenatal complications (eg, pre-eclampsia).
