Socio-economic factors associated with desired number of antenatal care visits in Tanzania

Abstract

This study analyses socioeconomic factors associated with the desired number of Antenatal Care (ANC) visits in Tanzania. The data are extracted from the Tanzania Demographic Health Survey and Malaria Indicator. The study employed Multilevel Logistic Regression analysis using TDHS-MIS 2022. The findings show that more than two-thirds of women attended at least 4 visits (desirable), while one-third of women attended less than 4 visits (undesirable). Over half of women attained primary education, while the majority had health insurance. About half of women were aged between 25 and 34 years, and 41.2% were economically classified as poor. Furthermore, the study revealed that the place of residence, educational level, distance to the health facility, access to health insurance, marital status, husband/partner's education level, birth order, women’s age, wealth index, work status, and family size indicated associations with the number of ANC visits. The study findings recommend that policymaking should focus on formulating policies and programmes that address factors reducing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality during pregnancy and birth. There is a need to carry out a qualitative survey to assess how and why social, cultural, and community factors influence desired number of ANC visits among women.