NDLI: “No visible signs of pregnancy, no sickness, no antenatal care”: Initiation of antenatal care in a rural district in Northern Ghana

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Kotoh, Agnes Millicent Boah, Michael
Abstract	Background Attending antenatal care (ANC) early contribute to better birth outcomes. Studies have shown that many pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa do not initiate ANC early (i.e. in the first trimester). This study determined the gestational age of pregnancy at first ANC attendance. It also explored factors that influence initiation of ANC. Methods This cross-sectional study, conducted in Ghana, used mixed methods to collect data from women aged 15–45 years who delivered 6 months prior to the study. Crosstabs, chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyse quantitative data. Also, 33 participants were engaged in focus group discussions (FGDs). Thematic content analysis was used to develop themes from the data. Results Of the 431 participants, 8.9, 8, 25.4, 45.3 and 10.7% started ANC in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth months of pregnancy respectively. Formal education, employment and number of living children were predictors of initiating ANC early; by 12 weeks of gestation. Women who attained primary, junior high, secondary education and above had 5.6, 57.5 and 163.2 higher odds respectively of initiating ANC in the first trimester compared to women with no education (p ≤ 0.05). Women with two, three and four to nine living children were 4.1, 3 and 3.5 times respectively more likely to access ANC early compared to primigravidae women. However, women with five or more children and primigravidae women are more likely to initiate ANC late; after 12 weeks gestation. The FGD data also show that most of the participants initiated ANC late. Two themes: visible signs of pregnancy and or sickness influence ANC attendance in the first trimester. The themes that explain late initiation of ANC are: healthy, do not value the benefits of early ANC attendance, desire to avoid embarrassment associated with the pregnancy, unplanned pregnancy, indirect cost of accessing ANC and traditional rites and practices. Conclusion Contextual factors influence ANC initiation. Investment in female education, intensification of health promotion activities by health workers, non-governmental organisations, community and religious leaders to sensitise communities on the benefits of initiating ANC at the onset of pregnancy is needed to improve first trimester attendance.
Related Links	https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12889-019-7400-2.pdf
Ending Page	13
Page Count	13
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	14712458
DOI	10.1186/s12889-019-7400-2
Journal	BMC Public Health
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	19
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2019-08-13
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Public Health Medicine Epidemiology Biostatistics Vaccine Environmental Health Pregnancy Antenatal care First trimester Second trimester Traditional rites Ghana Medicine/Public Health
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Journal Impact Factor	3.5/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	3.9/2023

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Exploring acceptability, opportunities, and challenges of community-based home pregnancy testing for early antenatal care initiation in rural Kenya

Under-attending free antenatal care is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes

Determinants of Low Antenatal Care Services Utilization during the First Trimester of Pregnancy in Southern Benin Rural Setting

Male partners’ involvement in antenatal care and its associated factors in West-central Ethiopia

Descriptive epidemiology of anaemia among pregnant women initiating antenatal care in rural Northern Ghana

Social support and intimate partner violence during pregnancy among women attending antenatal care in Moshi Municipality, Northern Tanzania

Number and timing of antenatal HIV testing: Evidence from a community-based study in Northern Vietnam

Determinants of health-seeking behaviour in rural district of Jasikan, Ghana: a cross-sectional study

The magnitude and determinants of delayed initiation of antenatal care among pregnant women in Gambia; evidence from Gambia demographic and health survey data

“No visible signs of pregnancy, no sickness, no antenatal care”: Initiation of antenatal care in a rural district in Northern Ghana

Similar Documents

Exploring acceptability, opportunities, and challenges of community-based home pregnancy testing for early antenatal care initiation in rural Kenya

Under-attending free antenatal care is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes

Determinants of Low Antenatal Care Services Utilization during the First Trimester of Pregnancy in Southern Benin Rural Setting

Male partners’ involvement in antenatal care and its associated factors in West-central Ethiopia

Descriptive epidemiology of anaemia among pregnant women initiating antenatal care in rural Northern Ghana

Social support and intimate partner violence during pregnancy among women attending antenatal care in Moshi Municipality, Northern Tanzania

Number and timing of antenatal HIV testing: Evidence from a community-based study in Northern Vietnam

Determinants of health-seeking behaviour in rural district of Jasikan, Ghana: a cross-sectional study

The magnitude and determinants of delayed initiation of antenatal care among pregnant women in Gambia; evidence from Gambia demographic and health survey data

“No visible signs of pregnancy, no sickness, no antenatal care”: Initiation of antenatal care in a rural district in Northern Ghana