Factors associated with late initiation of antenatal care among pregnant women in Kawempe National Referral Hospital

Abstract

Background: Despite the efforts put by the Uganda government and health care providers to ensure early access to ANC, late initiation of ANC among pregnant mothers attending Kawempe National Referral Hospital is still high. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with late initiation of antenatal care among pregnant mothers at Kawempe National Referral Hospital, Uganda. Method: This was a cross-sectional study at Kawempe National Referral Hospital conducted on 337 participants. Data was collected using questionnaire method and analyzed using STATA software. Stepwise logistic regression model was used to identify the factors independently associated with late initiation and all levels of statistical significance was established at p<0.05. Result: The proportion of women who initiated their ANC late at KNRH was 76.85%. Logistic regression analysis revealed that late initiation of ANC was significantly associated with having ever utilized ANC (P 0.05). Conclusion: The proportion of women who initiated their ANC late at KNRH was high. The main significant factor that influenced late initiation of ANC was having ever utilized ANC. This study recommends that future scholars should attempt to study factors that are associated with late ANC initiation in other hospitals in Uganda so as to widen the knowledge base for such fields of study.