Abstract

Antenatal care (ANC) was a key strategy towards improving maternal and child health. A recent survey data from
sub-Saharan Africa has however shown that most women only initiated ANC after the first trimester and did not
achieve the recommended number of visits. This study aimed to determine the completion rate of four ANC visits
and factors associated with failed completion of four ANC visits among women delivering at Jinja Regional Referral
Hospital, eastern Uganda (JRRH). A cross-sectional study design was conducted from February 2021 to April 2021.
A total of 355 pregnant women at term admitted at the maternity ward of JRRH were consecutively enrolled.
Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to obtain data. Descriptive statistics followed by binary logistic
regression were conducted. The variables in the final multivariate model were significant when p˂0.05. All data
analyses were conducted using STATA 14.2. Of the 355 pregnant women recruited into the study, 98(27.6%) had
completed a minimum of four ANC visits. Maternal age below 20 years (aOR=2.4, 95%CI: 1.61-5.21, p<0.0001*)
and a distance of more than four kilometres were independently associated with failure to complete four antenatal
care visits (aOR=4, 95%CI: 1.33-7.19; p=0.031*). A significant number of women do not complete the recommended
minimum of four antenatal care visits in this setting. Young pregnant women and those without public health
facilities within a distance of less than four kilometres are likely not to complete the recommended four antenatal
care visits in this setting. Strategies aimed at enhancing the accessibility of healthcare services are very crucial.
Health Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) messages targeting teenage mothers are key to
increasing ANC completion rates.
Keywords: Antenatal care, Women, Pregnancy, Maternal death, Teenage mothers.