Prenatal Care Utilization of Pregnant Women in East Azarbaijan Province

Background and Objectives: Inappropriate care during pregnancy can lead to undesirable results, including preterm delivery and low birth weight. One of the new, accurate and comprehensive indicators is the measurement of the adequacy of prenatal care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of prenatal care among pregnant women in East Azarbaijan province during 2008-2013. Material and Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on a group of 1142 pregnant women in East Azarbaijan province between 2008 and 2013. Information was extracted from the notebook of Maternal Care and the Household records of health centers. Data analysis was performed using independent t-test and one-way ANOVA by Stata11 software. Results: The mean age and standard deviation of pregnant women were 26.31 ± 5.81. Most of the pregnant women, 86.69% (965) had term delivery, 50.36% (554) had caesarean, 97.17% (1063) had sufficient care, 97.78% (1101) had starting care during the first trimester and 58.66% had normal hemoglobin (11-13.2 g/dl) in the first trimester of pregnancy. The coverage of at least four cares by rural and urban healthy worker was over 97%. According to the results, 90.2% of women received at least three care visits from midwives of community health centers, 97.67% received at least one visit by the family physician, and 79.77% received at least one visit by a gynecologist. As the number of prenatal cares increases, the number of low birth weight decreases significantly. Conclusion: Utilization of prenatal care in East Azarbaijan Province was consistent with the recommendations of World Health Organization and national guidelines regarding the number of provided care.