article · Reproductive Health
A community-based cross-sectional study assessed the uptake of preconception care and its associated factors among reproductive-age women in Debre Birhan town, Ethiopia. Using mixed methods with structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews across 410 participants, the study determined that overall preconception care utilisation was low, at 13.4 per cent. Statistical analysis revealed that age, marital status, knowledge regarding preconception services, and the physical availability of a dedicated preconception care unit were significantly linked to service uptake. Educational status was also noted as an influential factor. The findings indicate that access to dedicated facilities and improved health literacy strongly affect whether women seek care prior to pregnancy. Consequently, developing comprehensive preconception care strategies that encompass these service components is critical for designing implementation approaches that improve maternal and child health outcomes.
Preconception care helps women optimize their health before pregnancy, improving outcomes for both mothers and children. Demonstrating that uptake remains very low, alongside identifying barriers like inadequate knowledge and absent dedicated units, gives health authorities the evidence required to design targeted clinical services and educational programmes for women of reproductive age.
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BACKGROUND: Preconception care refers to things women can do before and between pregnancies to increase the chance of having a healthy baby and being a healthy mother. Unfortunately, millions of women in the world do not have access to pre-pregnancy, pregnancy health services and childbirth with suitable quality. Therefore, addressing this significant gap and coming up with the necessary information is helpful to improve maternal and child health in our country. So, this study was aimed to assess the utilization of preconception care and associated factors among reproductive age group women in Debre Birhan Town, North Shewa, Ethiopia. METHODS: A mixed method of community based cross-sectional study was employed from March 1st to 30; 2017. Systematic sampling technique was used to select a total of 424 reproductive age women. The data were collected using pre-tested and structured questionnaire and eight in-depth interviews were done using an interview guide. The collected data were coded and entered into Epi data 3.5.1 and exported to SPSS version 21 for cleaning and analysis. Logistic regression was run to look for the association between dependent and explanatory variables; and using variables which have p-value ≤0.25 binary logistic regression was fitted. Association presented in Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval and significance determined at P-value less than 0.05. RESULT: A total of 410 subjects were participated with a response rate of 96.7%. The overall utilization of Preconception care was 13.4%. Woman's age, marital status, knowledge and availability of unit for preconception care were significantly associated with utilization of preconception care with (AOR: 3.567; 95% CI: 1.082, 11.758), (AOR: 0.062; 95% CI: 0.007, 0.585), (AOR = 6.263; 95% CI: 2.855, 13.739) and AOR: 13.938; 95% CI: 3.516, 55.251) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of this study showed that women's utilization of preconception care is relatively low. A woman's age, marital status, educational status, knowledge about preconception care services and availability of unit for preconception care were factors affecting utilization of preconception care. Therefore, establishing preconception care strategies which can address all the components of the care will be essential when designing effective implementation strategies for improving the uptake of preconception care.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12978-019-0758-x
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