Financial Preparedness for Birth Among Rural Zambian Women: Do Antenatal Care Contacts Make a Difference?

Abstract

Financial constraints are one of the biggest barriers for women of low-income countries to receive necessary reproductive health services. Educating women about the importance of saving money has been incorporated as a component of antenatal care (ANC) contacts, but little is known whether ANC contacts influence women's saving. A secondary analysis was conducted on data from a cross-sectional household survey study of 1109 women who recently gave birth in two rural districts of Zambia. Receiving ANC contacts early and often and discussing saving money during ANC were associated with saving money for the mother's birth, but not with saving enough money for the most recent birth. Continued effort is needed to encourage women to attend ANC contacts earlier and more frequently. Additionally, the importance of saving money for birth should be discussed during ANC contacts. Future studies need to explore why women's action in saving does not necessarily lead to saving enough for childbirth.