Determinants of completeness and timeliness of antenatal consultation for mother and child couples in the N'Djamena South Health District.

IntroductionMaternal mortality is a public health problem worldwide. To reduce this burden, at least 4 antenatal consultations (ANC) are recommended to administer routine ANC care and early detection and prevention of related complications. This study was conducted to explore the contribution of access to ANC, limited geographical access, low educational level, and low socioeconomic status on the completeness and promptness of ANC. Methods and materialsThis was a descriptive cross-sectional nesting case-control study targeting mother-child pairs or pregnant women in the NDjamena South Health District, selected by a stratified cluster random sampling. Data were collected from February to May 2024 using a paper-based questionnaire administered face-to-face to mother-child couple. For the descriptive part of the study we estimated the coverage, timeliness and completeness. For the case control approach cases were women who had undergone first ANC after the 12th week of amenorrhea or less than 4 ANC during pregnancy, and controls were women who had undergone first ANC before the 12th week of amenorrhea or more than 4 antenatal consultations. The contribution of limited geographical accessibility to ANC service, low education level, low socioeconomic status, and not benefitiny the first ANC before 12 week amenorrhea on comdetness of ANC was assessed by estimating the crude and adjusted odds ratio (OR). ResultsOf the 723 participants included, 456 (63.07%) were mothers of children aged 0-5 years, and 267 (36.93%) were pregnant women. The completeness for mothers of children aged 0-5 years was 226 (43.56%), and the promptness rate for pregnant women was 87 (12.03%). Access to ANC (aOR = 17.65; 95% CI: 5.51-56.44), urban zone (aOR = 4.38; 95% CI: 1.68-11.44), and household status (cOR = 6.88; 95% CI: 2.06-22.97) was significantly associated with ANC completeness. Only Access to ANC (aOR= 29.85; 95% CI: 9.40-94.70) was significantly associated with ANC timeliness. Conclusionpromptness and timeliness were low in the South Health District of NDjamena. Access to ANC enabled mother-child pairs to be prompted to first ANC 1 and to perform the recommended number of ANC during pregnancy. More interventions are needed in rural areas.