European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Background: Identifying the women who are likely to miss receiving complete ANC care during their pregnancy and understanding the causal factors is essential towards the development of effective and targeted public health interventions. Objectives: To assess the sociodemographic profile and the factors influencing the utilisation of antenatal services among pregnant women in rural Coimbatore. Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among antenatal women residing in the field practice area of Rural Health Training Centre using multi-stage sampling method from June 2021 to May 2022 (one year) in the Rural Field Practice Area of a Medical College in Coimbatore district using pre-tested, validated, semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Majority (55.2%) of the participants were aged between 18-25 years. Only 10% of the women were currently employed. Tests of association showed that sociodemographic factors were significantly associated with ANC utilization (p<0.05). Among the study participants, 80.4% utilized the services completely (ANC visit to healthcare facility, consumption of IFA tablets, Td vaccination, basic blood, and urine investigations and ultrasonogram); 19.6% had incomplete ANC care and none had “No ANC”. Conclusion: The overall high ANC utilisation in the study area could be attributed to the favourable knowledge, attitude, and practice of the antenatal women towards maternal and child health as a result of high literacy rate, ongoing IEC and health promotional activities. Attention should be given to regular and sustained contact between healthcare workers and antenatal mothers especially through home visits to develop mutual confidence in preparing them for pregnancy, childbirth, and care beyond.