Characteristics and utilization of ante natal care services amongst women of rural Punjab, India- a community based study

Abstract

Background: India has high maternal and infant mortality. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in India (2013) was 167 per 100 000 live births and infant mortality rate (IMR) was 40 per 1000 live births. In rural Punjab, the MMR and IMR were 155 and 26 respectively. Ante natal care (ANC) services are crucial in reducing MMR and IMR but still there are barriers to the reach and utilization of ANC services. The objective of present study is to assess the characteristics and utilization of antenatal care (ANC) services in rural areas of Punjab, IndiaMethods: A total of 820 women were interviewed in a community- based analytical cross sectional study from 20 villages of Amritsar, Punjab (India) in 2005-06 by standard cluster sampling.Results: About 93% respondents had received at least one ANC during last birth. Almost 92% of women received injection tetanus toxoid (TT) and 56.34% received iron folic acid (IFA) tablets as ANC services. But only 49.75 % of the respondents had at least ≥3 ANC visits. 59.15% respondents did not receive any health advice from health worker during pregnancy.Conclusions: The majority of respondents, although availed the ANC services, but did not availed the full ANC package. The literacy of women has significant bearing on utilization of ANC. Health education is observed to be the most neglected aspect. The role of local health workers and community participation would be crucial in improving the utilization of ANC services at ground level.