The Factors Associated with Antenatal Care Utilization in Ethiopia

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is the provision of health services to pregnant women by trained health professionals before the birth of their babies to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. So, the study aimed to identify the factors associated with Antenatal care utilization in Ethiopia.

Methods: A Community-based Crossectional study design was used for 8885 women aged 15 to 49. The dependent variable was the utilization of Antenatal care services. Independent variables were Socio-demographic and Socioeconomic factors. The data was from the 2019 Ethiopian Mini demographic and health survey. Bivariate and multilevel binary logistic regression was used.

Results: Out of 8885 of all women considered for this study, 3910(44%) were utilized Antenatal Care (ANC) four or more times. 72.81% of the women were aged 15-34 years. On the other hand, high portions of women were from Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations Nationalities Regional State with their respective percentages of 10.7%, 11.8% and 11.3%. Women from Somalia Region were 0.285 times less likely to utilize Four or more Antenatal Care (ANC) as Compared to a Women from Tigray Region [AOR = 0.285, 95% CI = 0.109-0.747].

Conclusion: The utilization of the Antenatal Care service was underutilized in Ethiopia. Education status, Ages of mothers, Size of family, Religion and Place of Residence were major Factors of influenced ANC utilization. The concerned government body should also create a better environment for impoverished women to participate in entrepreneurial activities.