Maternal Health-Seeking Behaviors among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics in Primary Health Centres in Enugu Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Maternal health-seeking behaviour is important for promoting safe pregnancy, timely detection of complications and improved maternal and neonatal outcomes. This study assessed maternal health-seeking behaviours among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in primary health centres in Enugu Metropolis, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 pregnant women selected through a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS version 24. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of maternal health services, health-seeking practices, barriers to care, reported outcomes and preferred strategies for improving service utilisation. Results: The respondents’ ages ranged from 17 to 43 years, with a mean age of 28.98 ± 5.19 years. Most respondents were married (89.7%), and 51.0% had tertiary education. A high proportion of participants identified the first trimester as the appropriate time to book antenatal care and recognised key benefits of antenatal care, including maternal health monitoring, foetal monitoring and safe delivery. Most respondents reported seeking care at hospitals during pregnancy, and 97.3% had attended antenatal care in the current pregnancy. However, 40.3% reported missing at least one antenatal appointment, 57.7% reported receiving the required immunisation, and 49.3% attended postnatal care in previous pregnancies. Healthcare workers were the most frequently reported influence on maternal healthcare decisions. The main barriers to care were the cost of healthcare services and transport challenges. Respondents identified free or subsidised services, better government health policies, improved local healthcare services, regular health education and supportive family or partner involvement as strategies for improving maternal health-seeking behaviour. Conclusion: Pregnant women in this study showed generally positive maternal health-seeking behaviour, but missed antenatal appointments, low postnatal care attendance, financial barriers and transport challenges remain important concerns.