The care that women should be offered during pregnancy is outlined in NICE clinical guideline 62 ('Antenatal care'). However, pregnant women with complex social factors may need additional support to use antenatal care services. This guideline describes how access to care can be improved, how contact with antenatal carers can be maintained, the additional support and consultations that are required and the additional information that should be offered to pregnant women with complex social factors.

Examples of complex social factors include:
• substance misuse;
• recent arrival as a migrant;
• asylum seeker or refugee status;
• difficulty speaking or understanding English;
• age under 20;
• domestic abuse;
• poverty;
• homelessness