DELAYED INITIATION OF ANC FOLLOW UP AND IT’S ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN GURAGE ZONE, SNNPR, ETHIOPIA, 2021

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Antenatal care (ANC) is special care for pregnant women with the aim of preventing, detecting and treating health problems in both the fetus and mother. Early ANC attendance promotes early detection and treatment of complications which result in proper management during delivery and puerperium. If a women came for ANC beyond12 weeks ofgestation for the first time during the pregnancy, she was considered as having late initiation of ANC. Those are more likely to attain poor outcomes of pregnancy like feto maternal transmission of HIV/AIDS, post term delivery related to wrong dating, high risk of morbidity and mortality were in medically ill women and also there is so many poor outcome. The main problem we identified in this study was pregnant women who came from far distance more likely to start late initiation of ANC than the nearest one.OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed to determine the prevalence of late initiations for antenatal care follow up and its associated factors among pregnant women attending in selected health facilities in Gurage Zone, southern Ethiopia, 2021METODS: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted in Gurage zone among347pregnant mothers, who come for first ANC follow up. The study subjects was selected by systematic sampling technique from August to October, 2021. The data was collected using pretested structured interviewer administered questionnaire. Data entry and analysis was made by using epi data and spss respectively. Both binary and multivariable logistic regressionanalysis with 95 % confidence level was carried out.