Short answer. Book your first antenatal clinic (ANC) visit as soon as you know you are pregnant, ideally before 12 weeks. WHO recommends at least eight contacts in a pregnancy, and Kenya's Ministry of Health has adopted that model. Bring your Mother and Child Health Handbook to every visit. If you have bleeding, fits, a severe headache with blurred vision, or the baby moves less, go to a facility now: do not wait for your next appointment.
Checked against WHO's antenatal care recommendations and sha.go.ke on 26 October 2026. This is general information: your clinic may add visits for your situation.
Go now: danger signs in pregnancy
Go to the nearest facility straight away, or call 999 or 112, if you have:
- bleeding from the vagina
- fits (convulsions)
- a severe headache, blurred vision, or a swollen face and hands
- fever, or fast or difficult breathing
- severe pain in the belly
- the baby moving less than usual, or not at all
- water breaking before labour starts
These can be signs of pre-eclampsia, infection, bleeding from the placenta or early labour, and each one is treated faster the earlier you arrive.
The eight-contact schedule
WHO's model sets one contact in the first trimester, two in the second and five in the third:
| Contact | When (weeks of pregnancy) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Up to 12 |
| 2 | 20 |
| 3 | 26 |
| 4 | 30 |
| 5 | 34 |
| 6 | 36 |
| 7 | 38 |
| 8 | 40 |
If you start late, start anyway: the clinic will fit the remaining checks into the time left. Some contacts can happen with a Community Health Promoter rather than at the facility, and women with high blood pressure, diabetes, twins or an earlier difficult birth will usually be seen more often.
What the clinic checks
At the first visit, expect a history and examination, your weight and blood pressure, and blood and urine tests. Routine tests in Kenya include HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B, haemoglobin (for anaemia), blood group and Rhesus factor, and a urine test for protein and infection. WHO recommends one ultrasound before 24 weeks to date the pregnancy and check for twins.
At every visit after that, the clinic checks your blood pressure, urine, the size of your belly and, later on, the baby's heartbeat and position. It is also when you get vaccines and supplements due at that stage, and malaria prevention if you live where malaria is common.
Supplements
WHO recommends a daily iron and folic acid tablet for the whole pregnancy, usually 30 to 60 mg of iron with 400 micrograms (0.4 mg) of folic acid. Where diets are low in calcium, it also recommends calcium to lower the risk of pre-eclampsia. Your clinic gives these at ANC, so you do not need to buy separate "pregnancy vitamins" unless a clinician advises it. Folic acid works best when started before conception or as early as possible.
Before delivery: settle these early
- Where you will deliver. Choose a facility that can handle complications, and ask whether it is contracted with SHA.
- How you will get there. Plan transport for any time of day or night, and save a number to call.
- Who will come with you. A companion in labour, and someone to look after other children.
- What to bring. Your MCH Handbook, ID and SHA number, clothes and wraps for the baby, and sanitary pads. Pack by 36 weeks.
- What it will cost. SHA lists maternity, newborn and child health under its Primary Healthcare Fund, and maternity and neonatal services under the Social Health Insurance Fund. Check your contributions are current and confirm cover with your facility: see SHA and SHIF explained.
Questions people ask
What if I miss a visit? Go to the next clinic day you can. Missing one is common: what matters is not stopping.
Do I need to pay for ANC at a public facility? Charges vary by facility and county. Ask at the counter, and check what SHA covers before you go.
When should I start folic acid? Ideally before you get pregnant, and otherwise as soon as you know.
Sources
- World Health Organization. WHO recommendations on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience (2016) and later updates: who.int
- Ministry of Health, Kenya. Mother and Child Health Handbook (MCH Handbook).
- Social Health Authority, benefits: sha.go.ke
This article was written by the Tabibu editorial team from the sources above. It is general information, not a substitute for your antenatal clinic. For a question about your own pregnancy, ask your clinic, or ask Tabibu, which shows the sources it used.