Patterns and Determinants of Utilization of Antenatal Care Services in Tanta, Egypt

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is the health care given to pregnant women, to monitor the pregnancy and reduce the risks for the mother and baby during pregnancy and at delivery. To be most effective, it is recommended that all pregnant women should have at least four antenatal checkups during pregnancy, started as early as possible in the first trimester.

Aim: The study aimed to determine the utilization pattern of antenatal care facilities and to identify the determinants of utilization of the antenatal care services in family health centers in Tanta District.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 women attending four family health care facilities in Tanta city. The tools of the study were a predesigned, pretested structured questionnaire that inquire about socio-demographic data, obstetric history, medical history, the content of antenatal care program and utilization pattern, the attitude of the studied pregnant women towards ANC. Informed consent was obtained from each participant and data confidentiality was guaranteed. The data were collected through interviewing the selected women.

Results: More than half of participants (51.3%) started the first visit of ANC in their first trimester. Most of them (62.3%) received adequate ANC. Mothers in rural areas utilized ANC more than urban ones. The age of pregnant women was significantly lower among those who received adequate ANC than those with inadequate ANC. A higher percentage of adequate ANC recipients were more educated however the difference was not statistically significant. There was a statistically significant difference between adequacy of ANC and family income. Gravidity, parity, and children’s numbers did not significantly differ according to the adequacy of ANC.

Conclusion: Age of the women, residence, obstetric complication, the way to the health facility transportation cost, transportation comfortability, the number of work hours of health care providers were the significant predictors for the determination of utilization pattern of ANC services by the studied pregnant women.