Barriers to Antenatal Care Use among Pregnant Women

Background : Antenatal care is the routine health program of pregnant women to reduce the risk of stillbirths and pregnancy complications and give women a positive pregnancy experience. Objectives : This study aims to assess the utilization ratio of antenatal care services and to identify current barriers to proper utilization of antenatal care services in Mosul city. Subjects and Methods: A descriptive study was carried out during the period from 26 September, 2019 to 1 st April 2020. The study has been conducted among three hospitals in Mosul city namely: Al- khansaa teaching hospital, Al- salam teaching hospital and Al-batool teaching hospital. The target population was pregnant women who attend maternity and child care unit. The study sample consists of 3000 pregnant women. Data collection tool was composed of (2) main parts. The first one was for socio demographic data about the pregnant woman. The second part was for gynecological, obstetric and antenatal care characteristics. It was constructed through use of (2) option- type (yes-no). Content validity was determined by presenting the items to a panel of scientific experts. Results : Women with greater obstacles (mean=4.5) were found to be less likely than those with less barriers (N=60, mean=5.6) to receive prenatal care. There was a significant difference in prenatal care attendance between pregnant women who had no prior children (nulliparous) and pregnant women who had at least one prior child (multiparous) If t = 1.2, then the significance level is 0.05. Recommendations: The study recommends establishing several antenatal care clinics in different areas of Mosul city to improve medical and nursing staff caring attitude in addition to increasing people’s awareness through health education about the importance of conducting antenatal care visits since the beginning of pregnancy.