Background
Antenatal care is provided during pregnancy to save lives of mother and foetus.
World Health Organization recommends four focused visits as sufficient for normal
pregnancy.
Objective
The objective of the study was to find out antenatal care practices in Tamang
community of hilly areas of central Nepal.
Methods
Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Tamang community of Lalitpur
district. Systematic random sampling method was used to collect data from April
to May 2011. Data of 194 women having ≥3 years of children was collected and
analyzed in descriptive and inferential ways.
Results
Antenatal visits were made by 78.9% (153) of women but only 46.4% (71)
completed four antenatal visits. Mean visit was of 3.5 ± 1.13 times. Ninety four
(61.4%) of first antenatal visits attainders completed the fourth visit. Age of women
and antenatal visits, taking tetanus toxoid injection and knowledge on work of iron
tablets exhibited significant association at 95% level of confidence (p <0.05). There
was also significant association between numbers of childbirth and antenatal visits
at 95% level of confidence (p <0.05).
Conclusions
There was a high rate of early marriage and early pregnancy in the Tamang
communities. Women did not place high importance on antenatal visits. A large
percentage did not complete all four recommended antenatal visits. Use of
necessary medicine like iron, albendazole tablets and tetanus toxoid injection was
often incomplete.