Prenatal Care: Attitude and Compliance among Pregnant Women in Iloilo City, Philippines

Abstract

Prenatal care is an absolute action to avoid maternal and neonatal complications; however, there are still lapses that need investigation in terms of women’s attitude and their actual compliance with the standard practice. This study examined the attitudes of pregnant women in Iloilo City towards their actual adherence and the relationship of their attitude and compliance. There are 100 respondents that were purposely selected from a designated barangay to participate in this quantitative descriptive-correlational study. A lying-in was also added for additional participants. The researchers made a decision to use self-administered questionnaires upon measuring the variables and ethical clearance was obtained. The study found that most of the respondents had a good attitude towards prenatal care and they have high recognition of the importance of Antenatal Care (ANC) contact and maternal assessments. In general, the compliance was high, especially in laboratory testing, immunization, and micronutrient intake. However, inconsistencies were discovered in prenatal visit attendance and dental checkup. The study concludes that along with favorable attitudes and high compliance for prenatal care, improvements are still required in particular areas. These verdicts emphasize a greater effort to disseminate better education for maternal health, provide more access to services and improve community-based programs in promoting the importance of follow-up and consistent ANC contact for safer pregnancy areas such as immunization and dental checkups. Strengthening maternal health education, improving access to prenatal services, and enhancing community-based health programs may help promote consistent adherence to prenatal care for safer pregnancy outcomes.