Factors associated with use of antenatal care services in a rural area of Bangladesh

Abstract

Antenatal care (ANC) includes care during pregnancy, should begin from the early stages of pregnancy. ANC allows management of pregnancy, detection and treatment of complications, and promotion of better maternal and child health. This study assessed the factors relating to maternal healthcare practices in rural Bangladesh and examined the association between use of antenatal care services and socio-demographic variables of rural women. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Madhupur upazila of Tangail district. Postnatal mothers who visited the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) centers constituted as sampling frame and selected. The sample size was determined based available information on the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2007. In total 360 randomly selected postnatal mothers were interviewed using structured questionnaire for collecting information on demographic characteristics, knowledge on ANC and practices. The mean (±SD) age of the respondents was 24(±4.4) years. Most (95.6%) of them were housewives. Twenty-two percent of the respondents were from the poorest socioeconomic class. Mothers who had one living child had the highest percentage of adequate ANC use compared to those who had two or more living children. Access to mass media (newspapers and TV) had a positive significant (p<0.001) effect on the use of ANC services. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that, after adjusting other factors, respondents who had secondary-level education were 4.5 times more likely to use ANC adequately compared to those who had no education. The findings suggested that education of the mothers is an important determinant of ANC visits during pregnancy. Therefore, information, education and communication on ANC must be intensified in order to reach the rural mothers. Antenatal care (ANC), which includes care during pregnancy, should begin from the early stages of pregnancy. Women can access ANC services either by visiting a health centre where such services are available or from health workers during their domiciliary visits. One of the most important components of ANC is to offer information and advice to women about pregnancy-related complications and possible curative measures for the early detection and management of complications. Keywords:

Socio-demographic determinants influencing antenatal care seeking behaviour among women in Bangladesh: an application of factor analysis

“…Other factors such as age, total number of living children, wealth index and mode of transport were important that positively correlates the use of ANC during pregnancy of the postnatal. 3 Along with socioeconomic disparities, cost concern for medical treatment founded as principal reason for failing to seek care for life-threatening complications during pregnancy among Bangladeshi women. 8 Women reported low using of antenatal care as well as low rates of delivery with the assistance of a skilled provider and women who didn't seek effective treatment were those with the most severe life-threatening complications.…”

“…These services can be taken either by visiting a health centre where such services are available or from health workers during their domiciliary visits. 3 Though Bangladesh has made a significant improvement towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target no. 5 on improving maternal health, pregnancy related complications remains the leading cause of death and disability among women who are in reproducible age.…”

Importance of maternal education on antenatal care visits in Bangladesh

“…In a few studies, it was found that factors such as mother's age at birth, gender of child, wealth index, birth order, exposed to media etc. may play vital role in influencing ANC visit during pregnancy (Magadi et al 2000, Nisar and White 2003, Overbosch et al 2004, Sibley et al 2004, Sharma 2004, Alam et al 2005, Kabir et al 2005, Shahjahan et al 2012, Rahman et al 2017). An attempt has been made to identify whether maternal education influences ANC visit during pregnancy in Bangladesh using sequential logistic regression models.…”

Maternal Health Care Practices among Mothers of a Selected Slum in Dhaka City

“…5 According to the WHO recommendation, every pregnant woman should receive at least four antenatal care (ANC) visits during pregnancy. The use of ANC in developing countries is low compared to developed countries (97%) 4 due to the…”

“…They constitute more than one-fifth of the world's population and are repeatedly exposed to the risk of pregnancy and childbearing. 4 Maternal health refers to the health of the mother during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. The use of maternal healthcare services is important for the early detection of mothers who are at a high risk of morbidity and mortality during pregnancy.…”