Determinants of demand for antenatal care in Ghana

Abstract

The Ghana Health Service adopted a number of policies and strategies which were aimed at improving antenatal care attendance in the country. In addition, there were relative improvement in facilities and professionals at these facilities. Inspite of these improvements, the national antenatal care coverage continued to be irregular, though some regions made some remarkable improvements. Antenatal care was thought to have an impact on the reduction of maternal and perinatal mortality, if women have access to services and the quality of these services are sufficient to control the identified risks. If antenatal care is beneficial then what could influence a pregnant woman to attend or not to attend antenatal care? This study therefore tried to investigate factors determining demand for antenatal care in Ghana. The data for the study was obtained from Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) 2003. Multinomial logistic regression was used and estimated with the maximum likelihood estimation technique. A sample of 2777 women who had a baby at least five years before the survey were included in the data. Out of this number, 2766 visited either public facility, private facility or other facilities (maternity homes and TBAs) for antenatal care. The results showed that income, education and distance to health facility, among others, were statistically significant in determining antenatal care demand. A major policy recommendation was that health care facilities should be provided in rural areas to make health care more accessible.