The burden and predictors of late antenatal booking in a rural setting in Ghana

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and key predictors of late booking among pregnant women accessing antenatal care services in a rural district of Ghana.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: Data on demographic characteristics, knowledge of accessing antenatal care services and booking gestation were collected from 163 randomly selected pregnant women accessing accessing antenatal care in rural Ghana from 1 March 2022 to 30 April 2022 using a structured questionnaire. The chi-square and logistic regression were used to explore associations between exposure and dependent variables.

Results: The prevalence of late accessing antenatal care booking among study participants was 44.8% (73/163). About 79.1% (129/163) of them had adequate knowledge of accessing antenatal care services. Maternal age of 35-49 years (AOR: 8.53, 95% CI: 2.41-30.12), participants whose partners had no formal education (AOR: 3.43, 95% CI: 1.03-11.39) and participants with adequate knowledge about accessing antenatal care services (AOR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.07-0.62) were associated with late booking for accessing antenatal care services among study participants.

Keywords: Ghana; antenatal care; late booking; predictors; pregnant women.