Governmental services in prenatal care and its related factors in the suburban women of Bandar Abbas city in the South of Iran: A cross-sectional study

Background: One of the major problems in many communities in maternal health is that most pregnant women do not receive the necessary care during pregnancy, while care is provided in various forms by Comprehensive Health Services Centers and Health Centers. However, there is lack of information about pregnancy care status in suburban regions which is necessary on health care planning and policy making. Aims and objectives: The primary objective was to determine the governmental services in prenatal care in the suburban women of Bandar Abbas city in south of Iran. Also, we determined its related factors as secondary objectives. Study design: This was a cross-sectional study. Setting: It was conducted at Bandar Abbas city of Hormozgan province, Iran. The research sample was the population covered by Takhti Comprehensive Health Services Center. Materials and methods: 100 pregnant women and women with children under one year of age who wished to participate in the study were included by cluster sampling in February 2020. The participants did not wish to continue the study or incomplete questionnaires were excluded. The outcome was pregnancy care status which was divided into optimal and not-optimal groups based on receiving at least 6 cares during pregnancy. In order to collect information with interview by trained people, a researcher-structured questionnaire was used, which includes personal information and information about pregnancy status. Statistics: Data were analyzed by SPSS software, version 24.0 and descriptive statistics and statistical tests such as independent sample t test, chi-squared test and Fisher`s exact test. Results: Data of 100 participants with mean age of 28.6 years were statistically analyzed. Most participants (83%) had an optimal status for receiving pregnancy care. Among different personal and pregnancy factors, the timing of prenatal care initiation in the first trimester of pregnancy was significant, as most people who were cared at the first months of pregnancy received optimal care (69 out of 78) (P= 0.007). The care provider (P=0.172) or place of care (P=0.580) had no association with optimal care. Conclusion: Most of the participants in the study had favorable pregnancy care status. People with unfavorable prenatal care status were mainly mothers whose pregnancy care had begun in the third trimester. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of demographic variables, family and previous pregnancy history.