Factors associated with the utilization of antenatal care services among pregnant women in Eswatini- A cross-sectional study

The study aimed to assess the utilization of antenatal care services and its associated factors among pregnant women in Eswatini. A cross-sectional study was adopted. Convenience sampling was conducted in a public referral hospital in central Eswatini from 1st of August to the 30 of September 2021. A total of 400 newly delivered women who met the inclusion criteria were recruited. SPSS version 22.0 was used to analyze data including descriptive and bivariate analysis. Results indicated that only 13% of pregnant women booked their first ANC in the first trimester and 24.8% of them attended less than four ANC visits. Maternal education, gestational age, gravity, pregnant-related complications, medical history, and maternal health literacy were significantly associated with the utilization of ANC services (p< .05). To increase the utilization of ANC service, healthcare professionals should pay special attention to pregnant women with tertiary education, gave birth below 38 weeks, multi-gravities, medical history, and poor maternal health literacy.