Proportion of Pregnant Women who achieve Timely Initiation of Antenatal Care at Embu County Referral Hospital in Kenya

Background: The WHO guidelines of 2016 recommend that all pregnant mothers increase the number of contacts with their healthcare providers, from a minimum of four visits to eight contacts during their pregnancy duration. Unfortunately, globally only 64% of pregnant women receive these services for at least four or more visits throughout their pregnancy. Early initiation of antenatal care is vital for the early diagnosis of pregnancy dangers and establishment of preventive and promotive health as well as management of disorders, and necessary referrals. The aim of the study was therefore to understand the proportion of pregnant mothers that achieve timely initiation of ANC among the pregnant mothers attending ANC at Embu Level 5 Hospital. Results: All the mothers who responded to have made their first ANC visit before or in their 12th week of pregnancy were recorded as having achieved timely initiation of ANC. On the other hand, any mother who made her first visit after the 12th week of gestation was termed as having initiated ANC late. In this regard, more than half (137, 69.2%) achieved timely initiation of ANC while (61, 30.8%) did not. Conclusion: The study sought to understand the proportion of pregnant mothers who achieve timely initiation of ANC among the pregnant mothers attending ANC at EL5H. The study, therefore, concludes that; a majority of the pregnant women (137, 69.2%) achieved timely initiation of ANC while (61, 30.8%) did not. Recommendation: There should be an aggressive creation of awareness on the importance of early initiation of ANC as per WHO recommendations by the ministry of health, county government and the community at large. More studies should be done on women's empowerment and early initiation of ANC, and men's perception, involvement and participation in pregnancy and ANC