Utilization of antenatal services among pregnant women in urban slums of Dharwad district of North Karnataka

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the utilization pattern of antenatal care (ANC) services and factors affecting utilization of these services among pregnant women of urban slums of Dharwad city. Study design: A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban slums of Dharwad city and the data was collected by a house-to-house survey to interview all women (n = 482), who delivered three months prior to the start of the study, using a predesigned and pretested proforma. Data were analyzed by proportions, Chi-square test and Odds ratio. Results: The mean age of women was 23.59 years. Out of 482 women, 11% were teenage pregnancies while 56.85% of pregnancies were in the age group of 20-24 years; 67.43% of the subjects were housewives; 33.82% of the women belonged to Class III; 32.16% to Class IV; 77.62% literates had received full ANC package compared to 37.10% illiterates (χ2 = 44.4020, df = 1, p < 0.001, highly significant, Odds ratio = 5.88); 84.06% women of economic Class I and II took full antenatal package, followed by 82.82% Class III (χ2 = 45.9080, df = 3, p < 0.001, highly significant). Conclusion: Better utilization of antenatal services is seen among literate women of higher socioeconomic group. As antenatal registrations occur later in pregnancy there is need to emphasize on early registration and regular follow-up during pregnancy for a safer and better outcome.