The Perceptions of Women of Reproductive Age towards the Uptake of Focused Antenatal Care Services in Nakuru County
Abstract
The desire to correct the poor implementation of traditional antenatal care (ANC) in developing countries resulted to the adoption of antenatal care model termed as Focused Antenatal Care (FANC). The goal of FANC is to ensure a good outcome for both the baby and mother and prevent complication during pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum period. It is characterized by four (4) main focused visits. Studies have shown that Kenya has long suffered from high maternal morbidity and mortality one of the strategies to reduce the high Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is effective implementation of FANC. The aim of this study was to identify uptake of FANC services among women of reproductive age with emphasis on their perceptions. The health belief model was adopted in the study to guide the researcher in understanding the respondents’ behavior in seeking FANC services. A cross sectional study was carried out. Data collection involved use of a pre-tested questionnaire for quantitative data and Focused Group Discussion (FGD) guide for qualitative data. The sample size was 337 participants who had delivered within two years. Data analyses was done using SPSS version 21, chi square test was used to compare association between variables and content analysis for qualitative data. It was established that achieving or not achieving FANC is significantly associated (p<0.05) with high, moderate or low levels of perceived susceptibility (p =0.015), perceived severity (p =0.03) and perceived barriers (p <0.001).The study recommends that the ministry of health and other health sector should strengthen sensitization, information sharing and follow-up on FANC in a move to improve the uptake of FANC in Nakuru County.
Keywords: Perceptions of women of reproductive age, Uptake of Focused Antenatal Care (FANC) services, Nakuru County.
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