The role of maternal age and education in availing antenatal service in Odisha, India

Abstract

Antenatal care (ANC) is the service that pregnant women receive from health professionals during their period of pregnancy. The main objective of ANC is early detection and timely management of pregnancy related complications to ensure a safe, healthy pregnancy and delivery. However, most of the people and women are not aware of the significance of ANC and don’t avail the service as per WHO protocol. The problem is more severe in low resource setting areas and mother’s education, age etc. are believed to play major role in this process. This study was carried out with an aim to analyse determinants for availing ANC service among pregnant women of Odisha, an eastern state of India where majority of the people reside in rural areas using the National Family health Survey (NFHS)-5 (2019-2021) of India report. Maternal age, education and no. of parity were found to play significant role in availing ANC in proper time for prescribed duration. The findings suggest that, emphasis should be given on providing proper education to the girls, getting them married at right age and creating awareness among pregnant women as well as community members. Policy makers should design new interventions to increase ANC service quality both at health care facility and community level. Safe pregnancy and healthy delivery are key to a flourishing society and better future.