Factors associated with timely initiation of antenatal care among pregnant women in Bahir Dar city, Northwest Ethiopia: Cross‐sectional study

Abstract

AIM: This study aimed to assess the timely initiation of Antenatal Care and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics at Bahir Dar city, North West Ethiopia. DESIGN: Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted. METHODS: Data were collected on 804 pregnant women from 20 February to 27 March 2017. Face-to-face interview through systematic sampling technique was applied. Binary logistic regression was performed using SPSS software version 21, and the level of significance of association was determined at p-value <0.05 with a 95%confidence interval. RESULTS: This study identified 44.2% of pregnant women started their first antenatal care timely. Maternal secondary and above level of education AOR = 7.07 (95% CI: 4.41, 11.35)), age at first pregnancy >18 years AOR = 2.77 (95% CI: 1.39, 5.57) and having information about the correct time of ANC booking AOR = 3.14 (95% CI: 1.67, 5.92) were significantly associated with timely commencement to first antenatal care.