Nwosu Ugonma C, Okoroafor Odochi P, Ezeama Martina and Chinedu Eleonu Po
Women who are expecting a child and are currently in the gestational period, requiring specialized medical attention to monitor and maintain their health and that of their developing fetus. Despite high ANC attendance in Nigeria, only 14% of pregnant women start ANC during the first trimester as per the national guidelines. The median number of months that women are pregnant at their first visit is 5.4 months. One third of women do not seek ANC until their sixth month or later.
Objectives: This study seeks to evaluate the gestational age at first visit and services rendered in order to identify possible gaps and provide information that may help improve maternal healthcare delivery and pregnancy outcomes
Methodology: Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires and descriptive statistics (frequency distribution and percentage) was used to analyze the data.
Results: Revealed that 208 (55.0%) of respondents demonstrated high maternal awareness regarding ANC services, while 170 (45.0%) demonstrated low awareness. Items related to awareness of early booking and knowledge of the required number of ANC contacts recorded the highest yes, with 287 (75.9%) agree that awareness of early booking encourages ANC attendance.
Conclusion: The study showed that women with comprehensive knowledge about the benefits of early and regular ANC visits are more inclined to prioritize their attendance. Many expectant mothers lacked information on the essence of visiting clinics, reflecting the same pattern observed in this study where 45.0% of respondents demonstrated low awareness, affirming the continued need for targeted health education interventions within and beyond tertiary health institutions in Abia State