Abstract:
Background: 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. However, the majority of pregnant
women in Ethiopia initiate their ANC late. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of late initiation of ANC
and its associated factors among attendants in Addis Zemen primary hospital.
Method: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Addis Zemen primary hospital from February 7 to
June 122,018. The systematic random sampling technique was employed to select 369 pregnant women who attended
ANC in the hospital. Data cleaning and analysis was done using SPSS version 25 statistical software. Descriptive statics and
bi variable and multivariable logistic regression models were employed to assess the magnitude and factors associated
with late initiation of ANC defined as making the first visit after 12 weeks of gestation.
Result: This study indicated that 52.5% of the attendants initiated ANC late. The multivariable logistic regression analysis
showed that being housewife (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.36, 5.96), self-employment (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI:
1.12, 5.04), travel expenses (AOR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.05, 2.81), poor knowledge about ANC (AOR = 2.98, 95% CI: 1.78, 5.01) and
unplanned pregnancy (AOR = 2.31, 95% CI: 1.28, 4.16) were significantly associated with late ANC initiation.
Conclusion: The prevalence of late ANC initiation remains a major public health issue in Ethiopia. The major factors for
being late were found to be poor knowledge, being housewife, and self-employment, travel expenses and unintended
pregnancy. District and zonal health offices should work to create awareness about the importance of early initiation of
ANC, make the service closer to the community and increase contraceptive utilization.
