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Trends in antenatal care visits and associated factors in Ghana from 2006 to 2018
Open accessAbstract
Introduction: Given that maternal mortality is a major global health concern, multiple measures including antenatal care visits have been promoted by the global community. However, most pregnant women in Ghana and other sub-Saharan African countries do not attain the recommended timelines, in addition to a slower progress towards meeting the required minimum of eight visits stipulated by the World Health Organization. Therefore, this study explored the trends in antenatal care visits and the associated factors in Ghana from 2006 to 2018 using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Methods: The study used women datasets (N = 7795) aged 15 to 49 years from three waves (2006, 2011, and 2017-2018) of the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (GMICS). STATA version 14 was used for data analyses. Univariable analyses, bivariable analyses with chi-square test of independence, and multivariable analyses with robust multinomial logistic regression models were fitted. Results: The study found a consistent increase in the proportion of women having adequate and optimal antenatal attendance from 2006 to 2018 across the women’s sociodemographic segments. For instance, the proportion of mothers achieving adequate antenatal care (4 to 7 antenatal care visits) increased from 49.3% in 2006 to 49.98% in 2011 to 58.61% in 2017-2018. In the multivariable model, women with upward attainment of formal education, health insurance coverage, increasing household wealth, and residing in the Upper East Region were consistently associated with a higher likelihood of adequate and/or optimal antenatal care attendance from 2006 to 2018. Conclusion: Women who are less likely to achieve optimal antenatal care visits should be targeted by policies towards reducing maternal mortalities and other birth complications. Poverty-reduction policies, promoting maternal and girl-child education, improving general livelihood in rural settings, expanding health insurance coverage and infrastructural access, harnessing community-level structures, and innovative measures such as telehealth and telemedicine are required to increase antenatal care utilization.
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In low-income countries and fragile and conflict areas, pregnant women's formal education significantly predicted adequate ANC utilization.
“In low-income countries and fragile and conflict areas, pregnant women’s formal education [6, 11–15] and their partner’s education [13, 14, 16] significantly predicted adequate utilization of ANC.”
From Predictors of antenatal care utilization among the Rohingya population in the refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (2025) · cites this paper as [12]
The Results (Correlates of antenatal care visits) and Discussion report that higher formal education was associated with greater likelihood of adequate and/or optimal ANC attendance among women in Ghana. The paper studies Ghana; these passages do not establish the claim for low-income countries generally or for fragile and conflict-affected areas. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredDuodu and colleagues found in one cohort that multiparity was associated with fewer ANC visits compared to women who were pregnant for the first time.
“Duodu and colleagues [12] found in one of their cohorts that multiparity was associated with fewer ANC visits compared to women who were pregnant for the first time; however, this finding was not replicated in recent data [12].”
From Predictors of antenatal care utilization among the Rohingya population in the refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (2025) · cites this paper as [12]
The finding that multiparity was associated with fewer ANC visits was not replicated in recent data.
“Duodu and colleagues [12] found in one of their cohorts that multiparity was associated with fewer ANC visits compared to women who were pregnant for the first time; however, this finding was not replicated in recent data [12].”
From Predictors of antenatal care utilization among the Rohingya population in the refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (2025) · cites this paper as [12]
SES or wealth enables people to utilize ANC.
“Studies show that SES or wealth enable people to utilize ANC [11, 12, 14].”
From Predictors of antenatal care utilization among the Rohingya population in the refugee camps of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (2025) · cites this paper as [12]
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Utilisation of postnatal care among rural women in Nepal
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Simon, D., Michael, D., Rahman, M. S., Hiott, M. C., Rahim, A., Sanin, K. I., Tofail, F., & Wuermli, A. J. (2025) · Conflict and Health · doi:10.1186/s13031-025-00733-6 · Cited by 2
“…child, pregnant women utilized ANC significantly less often [14], and Duodu and colleagues [12] found in one of their cohorts that multi-parity was associated with fewer ANC visits compared to women who were pregnant for the first time; however, this finding was not replicated in recent data [12].”
Influential
Metadata
- Authors
- Duodu, P. A., Bayuo, J., Mensah, J. A., Aduse-Poku, L., Arthur-Holmes, F., Dzomeku, V. M., Dey, N. E. Y., Agbadi, P., & Nutor, J. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Huddersfield (GB)
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK)
- Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (GH)
- Lingnan University (HK)
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (GH)
- University of Ghana (GH)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Corresponding author
- Nutor, Jerry John
- ORCID
- Venue
- BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
- Published
- 2022-01-22
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 59-59
- ISSN
- 1471-2393 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8783507
- OpenAlex
- W4206941423
- Cited by
- 71
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 8
- FWCI
- 16.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PolyU Institutional Research Archive (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- ResearchOnline at James Cook University (James Cook University) (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Huddersfield Research Portal (University of Huddersfield) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- UNICEF
- University of California, San Francisco (7504575)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
- Keywords
- antenatal care visits, maternal health, maternal mortality, Ghana, sociodemographic factors, health insurance coverage, household wealth, maternal education, regional disparities, telemedicine, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys
- MeSH terms
- Sociodemographic Factors, Adolescent, Adult, Female, Ghana, Humans, Middle Aged, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Pregnancy, Prenatal Care, Young Adult, Social Determinants of Health
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