Predictors of Timing of First Antenatal Care Booking at Public Health Centers in Mekelle City, Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Early antenatal care attendance during pregnancy is important to identify risk factors in pregnancy and to encourage women to have a skilled attendant at childbirth. But many pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa start antenatal care attendance late, mostly in the second and third trimester. According to Ethiopian DHS 2011, Antenatal care coverage of Ethiopia is 34% and only 11% pregnant women start antenatal care timely. This indicates most pregnant mothers are not benefited from the services. Hence this study is aimed at assessing timing of first antenatal care visit and identifies factors affecting early attendance. Methods: Cross sectional descriptive study design was used. Data was collected from 410 systematically selected pregnant women who were attending antenatal care service at selected five governmental health centers of Mekelle city using pre-tested and interviewer administer structured questionnaire. SPSS version 16 was used to analyze the data. Socio demography, obstetric history and knowledge on advantage of early ANC booking and time when to start ANC were analyzed to see association with timing of antenatal care using bivarite and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Result: The proportion of respondents who made their first antenatal care within the recommended time (before or at 16 weeks of gestation) was found to be 32.7%. Multivariate analysis revealed that respondents with history of still birth, had obstetric problem for the current pregnancy, knowledge of timing of first visit and those pregnant women who had accompany to the health center for ANC visit were more likely to book ANC within the recommended time. Educational status of pregnant women and gravidity status has not significantly associated with timing of ANC booking. Conclusions: Majority of pregnant women do not practice early booking of antenatal care provided that the service is accessible. In order to improve the situation, adequate information should be provided to community.