In 2015, 18.3 percent of the Austrian population were at risk of poverty and social exclusion - about 211,000 (20 percent) women aged 20–39 years were affected. International studies report that poverty may lead to an increased risk of complications and pathologies during pregnancy. Further, children who grow up in poverty often have poorer long-term health outcomes.

In order to identify recent guidelines (2011-2016) a comprehensive handsearch was conducted in the guideline databases National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) and Guidelines International Network (GIN). Moreover, a handsearch for systematic reviews and primary studies was conducted in PubMed.

Two guidelines, the British National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guideline “Pregnancy and Complex Social Factors”, as well as the Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (AHMAC) Guideline “Antenatal Care”, address socioeconomic disadvantages of women during antenatal care. The recommendation of the AHMAC is that pregnancy care should be offered to all pregnant women. In addition, an individual approach will help to pay particular attention to socioeconomic factors and to incorporate them in routine examinations. NICE recommends in its guideline, affected women should be supported in order to ensure adequate prenatal care. NICE also defines criteria which are used to identify pregnant women who are in greater need of support. The only identified study developed and tested a tool for the identification of patients affected by poverty. The authors of this Canadian pilot study concluded that the defined questions helped to identify socioeconomically disadvantaged persons during anamnesis without stigmatizing.

Due to the proven link between poverty and health risks, special attention must be paid to socioeconomically disadvantaged pregnant women. Research on non-stigmatizing instruments, which can identify vulnerable women, is of great importance. In addition to social policy measures, it is necessary to ensure that low-threshold services are available for socioeconomic disadvantaged women and their children.