Perceived cost in the utilization of antenatal care services by pregnant women in Abeokuta South

Abstract

A cross sectional study of economic accessibility in the utilization of antenatal care and delivery services by women of child bearing age 15–49 years was carried out within Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State using a multi-stage sampling technique. Close ended questionnaires were administered on 390 women who were either pregnant at the time of study or had a child in the last one year prior to the study. Awareness of antenatal care and delivery services was high (over 90%). This cut across ages, educational and social classes. Majority of the respondents in this study perceived cost of seeking ANC services in private hospitals as reasonable though respondents with no formal education felt it was expensive. (75%). An adequate reproductive health education campaign is advocated to improve on the utilization of antenatal care services. Training and retraining of antenatal care service provider and legislation to entrench the regular evaluation of maternity care practice is necessary to maintain quality of care.

Keywords: antenatal care, perceived cost, utilization

Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 48(4) 2005: 98-102