Concurrent use of multiple antenatal care providers by women utilising free antenatal care at Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.

ABSTRACT

Observation has revealed that women who book at Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, concurrently use multiple antenatal care givers (formal and non-formal). This study was therefore conducted to identify the other sources of antenatal care for the women and to examine them in relation to their socio-demographic characteristics. A total of 200 antenatal women chosen from two randomly selected booking clinics were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The results show that 25% and 30.5% respectively from the two clinics were concurrently using formal and unorthodox ANC givers. Age and education were significantly related to the practice (p < 0.0002 and p < 0.02 respectively). These findings suggest that free services alone may not be enough to make women attend ANC in the hospital. A larger study, especially investigating patient's perspective of the quality of care, is recommended.