Timing of the First Antenatal Care Visit and Associated Risk Factors in Rural Parts of Ethiopia

Abstract

Early antenatal care visit promotes early detection and treatment of complications during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess the timing of the first antenatal care visit and associated factors in rural parts of Ethiopia. Only 3065 women from 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey in rural area were included in this study. The descriptive and binary logistic regression analysis used to identify the determinants associated with the timing of the first antenatal care visit. This study revealed that 31% of women visited the first antenatal care within the first three months. Our study revealed that women education, maternal age, region, media access, women occupation, distance from health facility, wealth index, pregnancy complication and plan for pregnancy had significant effects on timing of the first antenatal care visit early. To initiate pregnant mothers to attend the first ANC visit timely, community-based services like media coverage, education, transportation and giving awareness about the necessity of having antenatal care service early is mandatory.