Late antenatal care initiation and associated factors among pregnant
mothers attending Hawassa Public Health Facilities, South Ethiopia
Abstract
Objective: To assess prevalence of late ANC initiation and its
associated factors among pregnant women attending in Hawassa Public
Health Facilities, South Ethiopia, 2019. Method and materials:
Cross-sectional study was conducted from June 15 to August 15 /2019
among 392 pregnant women’s who visited Hawassa city’s public health
facilities, Southern Ethiopia for 1 st ANC service.
Pregnant mothers were enrolled using systematic technique and data was
collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Epi-data version 3.1
used for data entry and SPSS version 24 for data analysis was used.
Variables at p-value <0.25 on binary model was taken into
multivariable logistic regression and finally significance was declared
at a P-value 0f < 0.05. Results: The prevalence of
late ANC visit was 57.7% (95% CI=52.74-62.57%). Maternal age group,
31-35 years (AOR=4.93, 95% CI=1.70-14.27), Husband with no formal
education (AOR=2.88,95% CI=1.17-7.314), no previous ANC (AOR=2.03, 95%
CI=1.20-3.43), no history of obstetric complications (AOR=4.05, 95%
CI=2.06-7.96), Unplanned pregnancy (AOR=2.40,95%CI=1.23-4.68), and no
partner support (AOR=2.47,95%CI=1.16-5.26) were significantly
associated with increased odds of late ANC initiation. However, Maternal
decision making for service (AOR=0.40, 95%CI=0.18-0.87) were
significantly associated with decreased odds of late ANC initiation.
Conclusion and recommendation: late ANC initiation was high in
the study area. Maternal age, husband level of education, previous ANC
and obstetric complications, type of pregnancy, maternal decision
making, and partner support were significantly associated with late ANC
initiation. The City’s health offices need to provide education about
danger sign of pregnancy and its complication, create awareness about
the importance of early ANC initiation and its recommended time.