Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics of Pregnant Women Seeking Antenatal Care in Beni-Suef Governorate

Abstract

Pregnancy is an important time to prepare women and their families psychologically and emotionally for parenthood.Antenatal care (ANC) is defined as the care provided by skilled health-care providers to pregnant women to ensure the best health conditions for both mother and baby during pregnancy.Objective: is to study the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of pregnant women seeking antenatal care in Beni-Suef Governorate. Methodology: A descriptive crosssectional study conducted over a period of ten months(from April 2021 to January 2022), on 434 pregnant women attending for antenatal checkups at the ANC clinic of Beni-Suef University Hospital and 6 primary health care facilities which were randomly selected: El-kom El-ahmar, El mermah health care centers, El Ghamrawy and Sharq El-Nile health offices in Beni-Suef city, Bani-adi primary health care center and Naser health office from Naser City. A self-structured questionnaire prepared in Arabic language was used. Results: Pregnant women utilizing antenatal care services were mainly in the age

Antenatal care at rivers state university teaching hospital, southern Nigeria: who and when?

“…21 The findings by Khalil et al showed that most women (65.9%) where housewives though they were educated. 6 In our study, most of the women were multiparae which is closely followed by nulliparae. This finding is similar to other findings from similar studies.…”

“…[14][15][16] Our study is at variance with studies done in Egypt where 53% of the women registered in the third trimester and in Ireland where prevalence of late booking is low at 26.6%. 6,17 This late booking seen in this study and other African countries could contribute to high maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality seen in these regions. In Uganda, a cross sectional study determining antenatal clinic attendance noted that lack of knowledge about dangers of not seeking antenatal care and delivery at a health facility including inability to make independent decisions were major barriers to seeking health care among pregnant women in Uganda.…”

“…1,7,10 Across all age groups, the women sought antenatal care late as also seen in other studies. 1,6,7,10,18 Most women in this study were married and sought antenatal care late as in other similar studies. 1,6,7,10,18 This is not surprising as most women who register for antenatal care are married women.…”

“…1,6,7,10,18 Most women in this study were married and sought antenatal care late as in other similar studies. 1,6,7,10,18 This is not surprising as most women who register for antenatal care are married women. Most women in this study were civil servants and traders while housewives came third with prevalence rate of 18%.…”

“…This finding is similar to other findings from similar studies. 6,10 It is noted that multigravidae are more likely to utilize antenatal care services as compared to primigravidae without prior antenatal care services experience. It is also noted that multiparae are more likely to book late for antenatal care.…”