Abstract
Background. Early booking of antenatal care (ANC) is regarded as a cornerstone of maternal and neonatal health care. However, existing evidence from developing countries indicate that lots of pregnant woman begin ANC booking lately. Objective. It was aimed to assess timing of ANC booking and associated factors among pregnant women attending ANC clinic at University of Gondar Hospital, 2013. Methods. An institution based cross-sectional study design was used to collect data with a face-to-face interview technique. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was used to identify associated factors for early ANC visit using SPSS version 20. Results. From total women (N = 369) interviewed, 47.4% were timely booked. Mothers with younger age (AOR = 3.83, 95% CI: 1.89, 10.53), formal education (AOR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.03, −7.61), previous early ANC visit (AOR = 2.39, 95% CI: 2.23, 9.86), and perceived ANC visit per pregnancy of four and greater were significantly associated with early ANC visit. Conclusions. Although late booking is a problem in this study, previous early utilization of ANC visit favors current timely booking. This indicates that the importance of early booking was appropriately addressed from previous visits. Counseling of timely booking during ANC visit should be strengthened. Moreover, empowering through education is also recommended.
Highlights
World Health Organization (WHO) with a fifth Millennium Development Goal has planned to reduce maternal deaths by three-quarters by the year 2015 [1]
The new World Health Organization antenatal care (ANC) model states that every pregnant woman is at risk of complications and recommends early an ANC visit, of which the first should be during the first trimester
Detection of problems in pregnancy leads to timely referrals for women in highrisk categories or with complications; this is true in Ethiopia, where three-quarters of the population lives in rural areas and where physical barriers pose a challenge to providing health care [15]
Summary
World Health Organization (WHO) with a fifth Millennium Development Goal has planned to reduce maternal deaths by three-quarters by the year 2015 [1]. The new World Health Organization ANC model states that every pregnant woman is at risk of complications and recommends early an ANC visit, of which the first should be during the first trimester. The visit is used to classify pregnant women into two groups based on previous history of pregnancy, current pregnancy state, and general medical conditions. Late booking is a problem in this study, previous early utilization of ANC visit favors current timely booking. This indicates that the importance of early booking was appropriately addressed from previous visits.
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