Epidemiology and Health

Original Article

Association between early antenatal care and antenatal care contacts across low-and middle-income countries: effect modification by place of residence: Paschal Awingura Apanga, Maxwell Tii Kumbeni; Epidemiol Health. 2021;43:e2021092. Published online November 2, 2021; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2021092

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Abstract Summary PDF Supplementary Material

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The relationship between receiving early antenatal care (ANC) and 8 or more antenatal contacts (ANC8+) has not been well characterised across low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is also unclear whether the association between early ANC and ANC8+ is modified by a woman’s place of residence. Our primary aim was to assess the relationship between early ANC and ANC8+ and to investigate whether this relationship was modified by place of residence. We also estimated the coverage of ANC8+ across LMICs.

METHODS

We analysed data on 207,388 mothers with a recent live birth using multiple indicator cluster surveys conducted between 2017 and 2020 in 30 LMICS. Modified Poisson regression with robust variance was used to evaluate the relationship between early ANC and ANC8+, whilst adjusting for country, clustering, stratification, and sampling weights. Effect modification by place of residence was assessed on additive and multiplicative scales. A meta-analysis was conducted to pool prevalence estimates of ANC8+ across all countries.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of ANC8+ was 35.6%, ranging from 1.7% in Madagascar to 99.4% in Belarus. Early ANC was positively associated with ANC8+ (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 2.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.82 to 3.74). There was evidence of positive effect modification on additive (relative excess risk due to interaction, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.44) and multiplicative (aPR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.08 to 2.95) scales.

CONCLUSIONS

Many LMICs may not have adopted the 2016 World Health Organization guidelines on ANC8+. Receiving early ANC was associated with a higher likelihood of ANC8+, particularly for women in rural areas.

Summary

Key Message
Our findings suggest that early antenatal care (ANC) was associated with the likelihood of receiving eight or more ANC contacts (ANC8+) among all mothers across low-and middle-income countries. This association was modified by a woman’s place of residence such that mothers living in rural areas who received early ANC had a higher prevalence of ANC8+. Public health programs, which focus on increasing the coverage of ANC8+ should encourage all pregnant women to receive early ANC, particularly those living rural areas.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

The practice of polygyny on the utilisation of reproductive health services among married women in Ghana
Maxwell Tii Kumbeni, John Ndebugri Alem, Florence Assibi Ziba, Agani Afaya, Paschal Awingura Apanga
Journal of Biosocial Science.2024; : 1. CrossRef
Determinants of Focused Antenatal Care Utilization Among Women in Simiyu Region Tanzania
Agatha F. Ngowi, Serafina Mkuwa, Laura Shirima, Frida Ngalesoni, Gasto Frumence
SAGE Open Nursing.2023; 9: 237796082311707. CrossRef
Contents of antenatal care services in Afghanistan: findings from the national health survey 2018
Muhammad Haroon Stanikzai, Essa Tawfiq, Massoma Jafari, Abdul Wahed Wasiq, Mohammad Khaled Seddiq, Sheena Currie, Hadia Sayam, Ahmad Haroon Baray, Sayed Ataullah Saeedzai
BMC Public Health.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
The moderating role of partners’ education on early antenatal care in northern Ghana
Paschal Awingura Apanga, Maxwell Tii Kumbeni, James Kotuah Sakeah, Ayokunle A. Olagoke, Olufemi Ajumobi
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.2022;[Epub] CrossRef

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