antenatal

IPA/ˌæntiˈneɪtl/
IPA/ˌæntiˈneɪtl/

antenatal — adjective

  • antenatalpositive
  • more antenatalcomparative
  • most antenatalsuperlative

1. connected with the medical care and checks a pregnant woman receives before her

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

connected with the medical care and checks a pregnant woman receives before her baby is born.

Example

The midwife booked Roya into an antenatal class for next month.

antenatal + class

Liang drove Sofie to her first antenatal check at the clinic.

antenatal + check

Common collocations
  • antenatal care
  • antenatal class
  • antenatal check
  • antenatal clinic
  • antenatal visit
Synonyms
  • prenatal

    same meaning and often more common in American English

  • prepartum

    technical medical term, less common in everyday healthcare writing

Antonyms
  • post-natal

    used for care and recovery after the baby is born

  • postpartum

    common especially in American medical English for the period after birth

Grammar Patterns

antenatal + care / class / check / clinic / visit

be antenatal

Usage Note

Usually placed before nouns such as care, class, check, clinic, and visit. Common in British healthcare English; American English more often uses prenatal.

Common Mistakes

She started post-natal classes before the baby was born.
She started antenatal classes before the baby was born.
'antenatal' is used before birth, while 'post-natal' is for the period after birth.

Word family

  • natal
    adjectiveC2
  • prenatal
    adjectiveB2
  • post-natal
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Antenatal and prenatal mean the same thing, but antenatal is especially common in British healthcare English, while prenatal is more frequent in American materials. Prepartum is a more technical medical term and is less likely to appear in everyday patient advice. Post-natal is not a synonym: it refers to care and recovery after the baby has been born. In a UK hospital leaflet, antenatal class or antenatal care sounds natural. In a US clinic handout, prenatal care is often the usual wording.

prenatalprepartumpost-natal

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • antenatal exercise class
  • antenatal screening visit
  • antenatal care team

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Antenatal combines ante-, meaning 'before', with natal, meaning 'connected with birth'. In British medical English it is used for the period of care and checks before a baby is born.

First known use

1796

1796, in the meaning defined above