OBJECTIVE: To identify factors predicting hospital admission in pregnancy before the delivery. DESIGN: A case-control study within a cohort study of pregnant women admitted and not admitted to hospital during pregnancy. SETTING: University obstetric departments in three Scandinavian cities. SUBJECTS: 451 parous pregnant women attending antenatal care. Eighty-eight women were admitted to hospital before delivery, and 363 women were not hospitalized. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Antepartum hospital admission in pregnancy. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the groups with respect to health-related characteristics to explain the observed difference in hospital admission. Furthermore, significantly more women hospitalized in pregnancy had experienced severe life events. CONCLUSION: Factors predictive of hospital admission were identified as pregnancy complications, adverse reproductive health history, and severe life events.