Robera Olana, Tafesse Lamaro and Andualem Henok
Background: Pregnancy is one of the most important periods in the life of a woman, a family and a society. ANC (Antenatal Care) is special care for women during pregnancy through the public health services. The goal of ANC is to prevent health problems in both infant and mother and to ensure that each newborn child has a good start. Objective: This study attempted to estimate the levels and also examines the patterns of ANC utilization in the study area. Method: Community based cross sectional study design was used to assess utilization of ANC in Mizan-Amantown reproductive age group women. This study was conducted in Mizan-Aman town among reproductive age women from April to May 2013. Multi stage sampling technique was used in selecting the 388 study participants for data collection. Data was collected using structured questionnaire. The collected and cleaned data was entered in to Epidata 3.1 and then exported in to SPSS version 17 for statistical analysis. Then frequencies were calculated descriptively. Results: Among 339 respondents 34 (10%) had no ANC follow up. From the mothers who had ANC follow-up 225 (74%) booked for it before or at 12 weeks. Out of 305 respondents with previous utilization of ANC those who were vaccinated only once were 18 (5.9%). For 301 (98.4%) blood pressure were measured every time they go for ANC follow up. For 300 (98.4%) weight was measured during each visit. For 304 (99.7%) laboratory examination was performed and for 125 (41%) height was measured. Eighty seven, (28.5%) of the respondents correctly named at least one of the danger signs during pregnancy. Decreased/absent fetal movement 55 (18%) followed by vaginal bleeding 85 (27.9%) were the common mentioned signs. Out of 386 respondents majority 98.4% waited for less than 2 hours and the remaining 1.6% for 2-4 hours. Conclusion: ANC follow up of women of reproductive age group was found high. Addressing the major factors which affects the level of utilization of ANC is very important for the effective utilization of the service.