Improving Antenatal Care Services Utilization in Ethiopia: An Evidence–Based Policy Brief

Abstract

The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of four antenatal care visits. However, global estimates indicate that only about half of all pregnant women receive this recommended amount of care. The objective of this evidence brief is to summarize the best available evidence describing the low levels of antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia and to outline potential solutions to address the problem. The policy brief brings together global research evidence from systematic reviews and local evidence to inform deliberations about improving antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia. Only 32% of Ethiopian women with live birth received at least four visits during the length of their pregnancy, which is below the global average (54%). The predominant underlying factors for the low coverage of antenatal care services include: socio-cultural and economic barriers, poor access to health services, and poor quality of antenatal care services. Potential policy options to address the need for improving antenatal care coverage and service utilization in Ethiopia include the following: (i) Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) might increase utilization of health services by pregnant mothers (ii) mobile health (mHealth) interventions probably increases the attendance of health care appointments (iii) Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes may increase antenatal care attendance since it increases health care seeking behavior.