Varied offerings for mothers and babies during the postnatal period.
The Health Atlas for Maternity Care from SKDE shows that women in Norway receive close and good follow-up throughout pregnancy and childbirth, but that the services available during the postnatal period vary depending on where you live.
Published 2/27/2026
Photo: Colourbox
On Wednesday 3rd April, the Health Atlas for maternity care will be launched by the Centre for Clinical Documentation and Evaluation (SKDE) in Health North. The Health Atlas maps the use of health services throughout pregnancy, during childbirth, and in the postnatal period, to determine whether pregnant and birthing women in Norway receive equitable healthcare regardless of their place of residence.
Health Atlas for Maternity Care
The results show that pregnant women in Norway receive close and good follow-up during pregnancy and childbirth, but there are significant differences in the healthcare provided in the first weeks after childbirth.
High Number of Antenatal Appointments
On average, pregnant women had 5 appointments at the hospital during their pregnancy, in addition to 7-8 appointments with a midwife and general practitioner in the municipality.
A large majority have one or more antenatal appointments in specialist healthcare in addition to the mandatory ultrasound examination in weeks 17-19 of pregnancy.
Although there are no significant geographical differences in the number of appointments pregnant women attend during pregnancy, questions should be raised within the professional community about whether such a high number of appointments in specialist healthcare reflects a genuine need or if it may indicate overuse.
Variable Follow-up After Childbirth
The extent to which mothers and babies receive follow-up in specialist healthcare after childbirth varies greatly between the catchment areas of health enterprises. The observed variation is deemed unjustified.
When the results are viewed in conjunction with the varying follow-up in the municipal midwifery service, it raises questions about whether postnatal women receive a good and equitable healthcare offer regardless of their place of residence.
Few Followed Up by Midwives in Stavanger
In the Stavanger area, it is observed that pregnant women are less frequently followed up by midwives, both during pregnancy and in the postnatal period, compared to other parts of the country. More of the contacts with the healthcare service during pregnancy occur with general practitioners than in most other places, and there are generally few contacts with midwives even in the postnatal period. There is also a low proportion of postnatal women in the Stavanger area who receive follow-up in specialist healthcare, compared to the rest of the country.
This may indicate that the collaboration between the municipality and specialist healthcare is not functioning as it should.
Many Returning to Hospital in Bergen
In Bergen, it is noted that a very high number of postnatal women have one or more outpatient contacts within the first six weeks after childbirth. Some of these contacts are due to the "Midwife Home" project, where healthy mothers with healthy newborns who go home early from the hospital receive home visits from a midwife from the hospital. However, this does not explain why 60 per cent of those giving birth are in contact with specialist healthcare within the first six weeks after childbirth.
At the same time, it is observed that the proportion receiving visits from a municipal midwife during the postnatal period is low.
Use of Caesarean Sections Varies Greatly
The figures from the Health Atlas for maternity care show that there are significant differences in the use of caesarean sections. In Bergen, the proportion of births ending in caesarean sections is low, while in Nord-Trøndelag, there is a relatively high proportion of births that end in caesarean sections.
For residents of Nord-Trøndelag, there is a high proportion of both emergency and planned caesarean sections, which may indicate that the threshold for performing caesarean sections is lower at the birthing institutions here than in other parts of the country.
Fewer Women Receiving Epidurals in the North
The figures from the health atlas for maternity care show that epidurals as pain relief are given to birthing women residing in Troms and Finnmark to a far lesser extent than in many other parts of the country.
This raises the question of whether there is a higher threshold for administering epidurals at UNN and Finnmark Hospital compared to other hospitals.
More Women Giving Birth Naturally in Vestfold
In Vestfold, there is a lower proportion of births that end with so-called interventions.
Fewer births end with so-called medical interventions, where forceps or vacuum extraction must be used. Additionally, fewer caesarean sections are performed here than in many other places. At the same time, the figures for complications are low.
Om helseatlas
- I Norge er det et mål at hele befolkningen skal ha et likeverdig tilbud av helsetjenester på tvers av geografi og sosiale grupper.
- Helseatlas er et verktøy for å sammenlikne befolkningens bruk av helsetjenester i forskjellige geografiske områder, uavhengig av hvilket sted pasientene behandles.
- De regionale helseforetakene har et “sørge-for-ansvar» for at befolkningen i deres opptaksområde tilbys forsvarlig spesialisthelsetjeneste. Dette “sørge-for-ansvaret» ligger til grunn for helseatlasenes analyser av variasjon i bruk av helsetjenester. Uberettiget variasjon kan bety at «sørge-for-ansvaret» ikke er tilstrekkelig ivaretatt.
- Helseatlas er en nettbasert karttjeneste. Atlaset er et tredelt produkt som består av et interaktivt Norgeskart, faktaark/sammendrag og en rapport som redegjør for metode og med mer inngående beskrivelse av hvert pasientutvalg.
- Helseatlas utvikles og leveres av Senter for klinisk dokumentasjon og evaluering (SKDE) i Helse Nord og Helse Førde i Helse Vest på oppdrag fra Helse og omsorgsdepartementet.