Factors Associated with Late Antenatal Care after gestational age 12 Weeks at Thalang Hospital, Phuket Province.

Abstract

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is a crucial component of maternal healthcare services, enabling pregnant women to receive regular health check-ups to prevent, detect, and treat complications that may arise during pregnancy. It was found that pregnant women who came for antenatal care at Thalang Hospital received antenatal care late after 12 weeks, which was higher than the standard and affected the health of the mother and the baby.

Objectives: To study the factors associated with delayed antenatal care after gestational age 12 weeks of pregnancy among pregnant women who first attended antenatal care at Thalang Hospital, Phuket Province.         

Method: The study employed a descriptive research design. The sample consisted of 182 pregnant women who came for their first antenatal visit after 12 weeks of pregnancy at Thalang Hospital. The research instruments consisted of a questionnaire on personal characteristics and health perception, with a Cronbach’s alpha reliability of 0.87. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis using the Chi-square Test.

Results: The results showed that factors related to delayed antenatal care included personal characteristics, such as marital status, education level, occupation, income, number of pregnancies, number of children, and use of contraception. Health perception related to delayed antenatal care included perception of pregnancy risks and perception of the benefits of antenatal care, perceived barriers to antenatal care, pregnancy intention, acceptance of pregnancy by spouses, and acceptance of pregnancy by the community.  

Conclusion: To achieve the goal of antenatal care, there should be two parts of action: in the hospital and in the community, to raise awareness among pregnant women of the importance of early antenatal care.