Utilization of antenatal care services in rural population of north India: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is an opportunity to encourage a positive pregnancy experience and improved maternal and child survival. Care in the antenatal period is also essential for supporting the long-term growth and development of the child. ANC visits are vital for providing counselling to mothers about the care they should take during pregnancy and in preparation for childbirth. The principal objective of the study was to evaluate the utilization of antenatal care services in rural population of North India.Methods: The present community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 mothers over a period of Eight months. A semi structured, pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection, the statistical data was recorded and analysed using by the SPSS Software.Results: In present study all the pregnancies had ANC registration and 20.5% of them had ≥4 ANC visits. 91% of the mothers received Iron and Folic Acid supplementation while 95% of mothers immunized with adequate dose of Tetanus Toxoid. With regards to the type of delivery 87.5% were normal vaginal deliveries and 75.5% were occurred at health facility. The length of stay in the hospital was less than 2 days in 55% of deliveries and 52% of the mothers received cash assistance for institutional delivery by the government under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) scheme.Conclusions: The present study showed low utilization of full antenatal care services and JSY Scheme among the mothers. There is need to educate and council the mother and their family by health personnel regarding significance of utilization of antenatal services.