Timing and factors associated with early antenatal visits among pregnant women in west Gojjam, northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Early and appropriate antenatal care practices have the potential to save the lives of mothers and their children, and enable mothers to receive the full range of antenatal care services. However, in developing countries, including Ethiopia, a number of pregnant women do not attend antenatal care in the recommended time period. Therefore, this article assessed the timing and factors associated with early antenatal care visits in west Gojjam, northwest Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women attending antenatal care services in west Gojjam. Data on participants' sociodemographic, obostetric and reproductive health information were collected from 820 participants using a structured interviewer-administered pretested questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify variables associated with early antenatal care visits. Variables with P<0.05 were considered significant. A visit was considered ‘early’ if a pregnant woman attended their first antenatal care session within the first 12 weeks of gestation. Results Almost a third (31.5%) of mothers started antenatal care early. The mean gestational age at the first visit was 17 weeks (standard deviation±7.7), with a range of 3–36 weeks. In multivariate analysis, it was found that being nulliparous (adjusted odds ratio: 2.3; P=0.013), travel time to the health facility being less than 30 minutes (adjusted odds ratio: 6.1; P<0.001) and living in an urban area (adjusted odds ratio: 2.4; P=0.001) were significantly associated with attending antenatal care early. Conclusions Early first antenatal care attendance was low in the study area. It is important to decentralise the provision of antenatal care services at health posts through an outreach service, by strengthening the mobilisation, screening and early referral system through health extension workers and the women development army. This will allow more women to receive antenatal care from skilled providers.

Socioeconomic inequality in timing of ANC visit among pregnant women in Ethiopia, 2019

“…This study finding showed that approximately 63% of women had scheduled their ANC visits timely (4 months and earlier). This study finding was higher than those of studies carried out in Bahir Dar city (44.2%), Sodo(39%), west Gojam (31.5%), Ethiopia (26.8%), Nigeria (24%), southeastern Tanzania (29%), Malawi (28%), Gondar (47.4%), and Tigray region (27.5%) ( 1 , 3 – 5 , 7 , 13 , 20 – 22 ). Similarly, these findings were higher than the results of the study conducted based on the 2016 EDHS that approximately 20% of the mothers initiated ANC timely, Bangladesh (43%) and South Sudan (14.1%) ( 6 , 23 , 24 ).…”

“…Globally, pregnancy-related complications accounts for 300,000 maternal deaths ( 1 ). Maternal mortality is a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, and Ethiopia is one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality ratio of 412/100,000 ( 2 , 3 ).…”

“…The life-saving strategy for both mothers and children is a timely antenatal care visit ( 1 ). This is mainly attributed to the availability of various services and interventions available to specific stages of pregnancy ( 9 ).…”

Iron folic acid supplementation adherence level and its associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a multilevel complex data analysis of 2019 Ethiopian mini demographic and health survey data

“…During pregnancy, it is best to begin iron and folic acid supplementation as soon as possible. Most Ethiopian women do not begin iron folic acid supplementation during the first trimester of pregnancy because the majority of them discover their pregnancy after the first trimester and begin ANC during the second half of pregnancy (36).…”

“Africans, we know how to adapt indeed”: Adaptations to family planning and reproductive health services in humanitarian settings in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…FP/RH is a key, and often unfulfilled need of women and girls in humanitarian settings [30,31]. Prior to COVID-19 there was a large unmet need for FP/RH services among internally displaced women and girls in Nigeria [32][33][34]. This is especially true for adolescent girls and young women who are more vulnerable to poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes and have few services tailored to their specific needs [33,35,36].…”