Late antenatal visit and associated factors

.ABSTRACT Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is important for maternal and fetal health. As early as the first trimester, ANC visits should begin and continue throughout the second and third trimester. Long distances or times to health facilities, lack of health insurance, low socioeconomic status, low levels of education, parity, limited understanding of the benefits of ANC, employment status, cultural norms and ethnicity and communication between health workers are just a few of the factors that contribute to late ANC initiation. Aim: This study aimed to assess late antenatal visits and associated factors among pregnant women. Design: A descriptive study design was used. Setting: This study was carried out at antenatal clinics of Obstetric and Gynecological Specialty Center at Mansoura University Hospitals, Mansoura, Egypt. Study sample: A convenient sample of 384 pregnant women was utilized. Tools: One tool was used; a structured interview questionnaire which consists of four parts: socio Demographic factors, obstetric history, sociocultural factors and health system factors. Results: More than two thirds of them were far from health system, had expensive transport cost &their family size was 3-5.. More than half of them had previous pregnancy complications. Nearly three quarters of the pregnant women reported fear of disclosure, the majority of them reported fear of evil eye, lack of husband support. Less than two thirds of the pregnant women reported low quality of services received during ANC while more than one third of them reported high ANC quality. Conclusion: There was a statistically significant association between the studied women's first antenatal visit and their sociodemographic, obstetric, sociocultural and health system factors. Recommendation: Increasing the awareness of pregnant women about the importance of early attendance to antenatal clinics.