Client Factors Affecting the Delay of the First Antenatal Care Visit and Inadequate Antenatal Care in Sub-district Health Promoting Hospitals, Angthong Province

Abstract

Late antenatal care visit and inadequate antenatal care (ANC) may cause harmful effects to preg-nant woman and newborn; and they were found to be associated with provider and client factors. The objective of this study was to determine client risk factors of the late and inadequate ANC. It was con-ducted as an analytical cross sectional study among 304 pregnant women attending ANC services at district health promoting hospitals in Angthong province between on September to October 2015. Data were collected through questionnaire; and were analyzed by using percentage, mean, standard deviation, Odds ratio, Chi square test or Fisher’s exact test, and independent t test or Mann-Whitney test. It was found that there were 131 pregnant women with late antenatal registration (43.1%), and 110 pregnant women with inadequate antenatal care visits (36.2%). Factors associated with late antenatal and inad-equate antenatal care were history of abortion, gestational age at the awareness of pregnancy, unwanted pregnancy, discomfort symptoms during pregnancy, and inadequacy of total family income. We found that delayed awareness of pregnancy was the risk factor of late antenatal registration (adjusted OR=1.67, 95%CI=1.48-1.87, p<0.001) and inadequate antenatal visits (adjusted OR=1.40 , 95%CI=1.29-1.52, p<0.001). Therefore, education regarding the presumptive signs and symptoms of pregnancy and repro-ductive health for women at pre-reproductive age were recommended. In addition, policies that proactively promote early ANC attendance and complete ANC service visits should be developed.