American-style antenatal classes could be set up in schools so midwives can help schoolgirls during their pregnancy, the government's main health advisers recommend today.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) said health checks in schools would help young mothers-to-be engage more with NHS services. Antenatal classes for that age group could also be held in children's centres and GPs' surgeries in a bid to overcome the embarrassment some young women feel about being pregnant, Nice says.

Dr Rhona Hughes, an obstetrician who helped draw up Nice's guidelines on improving antenatal care for excluded groups, said sessions in schools were "a common pattern of care" in the US.

"It would not be appropriate for many teenagers, 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds, but we did find examples in the literature of good practice where clinics were held in schools and young women were more likely to access care," she said.