Predictors of antenatal care booking among pregnant women in The Gambia

Abstract

Background: This study explored the factors influencing antenatal care booking among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Lower River region of The Gambia. Aims: To identify barriers to antenatal care booking and suggest measures to address them. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study using convenient sampling technique to recruit 238 pregnant women attending antenatal care services into the study. The statistical methods used were descriptive, ANOVA, t-test, Pearson's correlation, χ2 square and logistic regression. Findings: The mean gestational age (weeks) at booking was 22.58±6.96. Respondents' wellbeing score revealed a mean score of 68.25±17.48. Husband's level of education, type of clinic, difficulty in getting national identification card, and wellbeing were significantly associated with antenatal care booking. Logistic regression showed that among all the predictors, wellbeing was the variable that significantly contributed to the model (OR=0.64, P<0.001). Conclusions: There is a need to incorporate mental health attention in routine antenatal care services to assess women's wellbeing and to give support and care to women with low wellbeing scores for desirable pregnancy outcome.