Abstract:
This study investigates factors determining the timing of antenatal care (ANC) visit and the type of
delivery assistant present during delivery among a national representative sample of Ghanaian women.
Method: Data for the study was drawn from the women questionnaire (N=4,916) of the 2008 Ghana Demographic
and Health Survey among 15–49-years-old women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore
factors determining the type of delivery assistance and timing of ANC visit for live births within five years prior to
the survey.
Results: Majority of Ghanaian women attended ANC visit (96.5%) but many (42.7%) did so late (after the first
trimester), while 36.5% had delivery without the assistance of a trained personnel (30.6%) or anyone (5.9%). Age
(OR=1.5, CI=1.1-1.9, OR for 25-34-year-olds compared to 15-24-year-olds), religion (OR=1.8, CI=1.2-2.8, OR for
Christians versus Traditional believers) wealth index (OR=2.6, CI=1.7-3.8, OR for the richest compared to the poorest)
were independently associated with early ANC visit. Likewise, age, place of residence, education and partner’s
education were associated with having a delivery assisted by a trained assistant. Also, Christians (OR=1.8, CI=1.1-3.0)
and Moslems (OR=1.9, CI=1.1-3.3) were more likely to have trained delivery assistants compared to their
counterparts who practised traditional belief. Furthermore, the richer a woman the more likely that she would have
delivery assisted by a trained personnel (OR=8.2, CI= 4.2-16.0, OR for the richest in comparison to the poorest).
Conclusions: Despite the relatively high antenatal care utilisation among Ghanaian women, significant variations
exist across the socio-demographic spectrum. Furthermore, a large number of women failed to meet the WHO
recommendation to attend antenatal care within the first trimester of pregnancy. These findings have important
implications for reducing maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters by the year 2015.
