Antenatal care in Mozambique: Number of visits and gestational age at the beginning of antenatal care
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.4964.3481%20Keywords:
Prenatal Care; Maternal Health; Women’s Health; Nursing Care; Gestational Age; Mozambique.Abstract
Objective: 1) to assess the gestational age at the beginning of
antenatal care and its covariates; 2) to assess the number of
antenatal visits and its covariates; and 3) to identify the reasons
for the late initiation of antenatal care and for attending less
than four visits among postpartum women living in Nampula,
Mozambique. Method: cross-sectional study conducted with
393 mothers who answered a structured instrument in faceto-
face interviews. Logistic regression was used to analyze
the covariates of having initiated antenatal care up to the
16th gestational week, having attended four or more antenatal
visits, and reporting both situations simultaneously. Results:
all postpartum women underwent antenatal care, but only
39.9% started it until the 16th gestational week, 49.1% attended
four or more visits, and 34.1% reported both events. Having
concluded high school (ORadj=1.99; 95%CI=1.19-3.31) or
college (ORadj=3.87; 95%CI=1.47-10.18) were aspects
associated with reporting both situations. The reasons for the
late initiation of antenatal care and attending less than four
visits were as follows: not finding it important to attend several
visits, not having easy access to the health facility, not being
aware about pregnancy, and not having a companion for the
visits. Conclusion: the gestational age at the beginning of
antenatal care and the number of antenatal visits are lower
than the current recommendations in the country.
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