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Objective. Women’s understanding of pregnancy and antenatal care is influenced by their cultural context.  In low income settings women may have limited influence over their reproductive health including when to seek health care. Awareness of signs of pregnancy complications is essential to seek timely care. The use of antenatal care services in Vietnam has been studied with quantitative methods but there are few qualitative studies on the perceptions of pregnancy and maternal health care among Vietnamese women.

Design. Four focus group discussions (FGD) with pregnant women were performed.

Setting. The study was conducted in a rural district in northern Vietnam.

Population. Pregnant women in the last trimester living in Bavi district, Vietnam.

Method. The data were analysed using manifest and latent content analysis.

Result. The latent theme ‘Securing pregnancy during normal course and at deviation’, consisting of the main categories ‘Ensuring a healthy pregnancy’ and ‘Separating the normal from the abnormal’ emerged.

Conclusion. This qualitative study of pregnant women in rural Vietnam indicates how women create a strategy to promote a healthy pregnancy through lifestyle adjustments, gathering of information, and seeking timely medical care. Insight in pregnancy-related conditions were sought from various sources and influenced both by Vietnamese traditions and modern medical knowledge. Public knowledge about deviating symptoms during pregnancy and high confidence in maternal health care are most likely contributing factors to the relative good maternal health status in Vietnam.