Abstract
Antenatal care (ANC) is an important public health screening tool to promote better outcomes in pregnant women and their unborn children. Women who book for ANC early enjoy the benefits of early detection of any probable condition which can affect the pregnant woman or her fetus. The objective of the study was to analyse determinants of late First ANC booking among pregnant women in Kasenegwa district in the Eastern Province of Zambia. The study design was a cross-sectional focusing on first ANC women, which used a multi-stage sampling design to sample the health facilities included in the study. Purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to come up with the sample size of 225 pregnant women. Logistic regression was used to analyse the data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20. The prevalence of late ANC booking was 53% (107/118) in the study area. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that maternal age (OR=1.7 p-value=<0.0001), Marital status (OR=7.6, 95% CI=2.801-21.020, p-value=<0.0001), Education (OR=6.9, p-value=0.030), Knowledge on the need to book early for ANC despite any noticeable complications (OR=7.964, 95% CI=2.308-27.486, p-value=0.001), decision making to book for ANC (OR=.111, 95%CI=.059-.208, p-value=.000), maternal gravida (OR=1.47, p-value=0.012), Parity (OR=1.65 p-value=0.024), unplanned pregnancy (OR=2.1, 95% CI=6.385-71.406 p-value=<0.0001), and staff attitude (OR=1.973, 95% CI=1.730-2.249, p-value=0.006) were found to be significant determinants. From the results, it can be deduced that Late ANC booking is high in Kasenengwa District and factors associated with this problem are maternal age, maternal marital status, maternal gravida/parity, spouse/husband nonsupport and pregnancy uncertainty.
Highlights
Antenatal care (ANC) refers to the attention provided to pregnant women and pubescent girls by skilled health personnel
Estimate of the study population was based on monthly load of previous year of pregnant women who booked for first ANC at each health facility
The results further indicated a significant association between participants who had no child and registering a first pregnancy (p-value=0.024)
Summary
Antenatal care (ANC) refers to the attention provided to pregnant women and pubescent girls by skilled health personnel. Appropriate care is provided to ensure that both the mother and baby have the best health conditions during pregnancy [1]. ANC is a screening tool to avert adverse outcomes in pregnant women and their children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) ANC guidelines specify that during ANC, pregnant women are empowered with information and education, assessed and screened for the purpose of identifying any pregnancy related risks and diseases [1]. ANC is, a vital tool for decreasing pregnancy related impediments including maternal mortality rate [3]. Despite the benefits that come with early ANC booking, most pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa and Zambia in particular, still
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