Expectant mothers in Hong Kong requiring government antenatal services will only need to visit public hospitals, rather than maternal and child health centres, under a change taking effect on Monday.
Health authorities announced on Friday that antenatal services currently provided by maternal and child health centres, managed by the Department of Health, will be transferred to public hospitals under the Hospital Authority.
“After the service integration, the obstetrics department of the Hospital Authority will provide one-stop antenatal services to all pregnant women planning to give birth in public hospitals,” the department stated.
“The integration is one of the measures to optimise service management and follow-up arrangements.”
Under the existing system, public antenatal care is jointly provided by hospital obstetrics departments and maternal and child health centres.
High‑risk pregnancies are managed in hospitals, while those with low‑risk pregnancies receive care at both hospitals and health centres.
The changes will be implemented in two phases. The first, beginning on Monday, will integrate antenatal services from 15 maternal and child health centres into nine public hospitals.
