Factors affecting the utilization of antenatal care services in Ibadan, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Antenatal care utilization is still low in Nigeria. This underutilization varies from region to region and from state to state. This study assesses the factors that determine the utilization of antenatal care service in Ibadan. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in two randomly selected local government council area in Ibadan. A pretested questionnaire was administered to 400 women. Information was obtained from the women on their attendance at antenatal clinic and the reasons for not attending the antenatal clinics RESULTS: Majority (76.8%) of the respondents attended ANC clinic. Women in urban areas were more than 2 times likely to attend antenatal clinic than women in urban areas [(OR=2.177, 95% CI, 1.081-4.382)]. Women who were Muslims or other religions were more than 2 times likely to attend ANC clinic than women who were Christians [(OR=2.398, 95% CI, 1.264-4.557)]. Also, Women who were 25 years and older were more than 2 times more likely to utilize antenatal than women who were 25 years or younger [(OR=2.236, 95% CI,1.106-4.107]. CONCLUSION: Efforts towards ensuring the utilization should be targeted towards rural areas, the importance of modern antenatal care should be emphasized even in the religious settings and younger women should be encouraged to utilize antenatal care services.