Background to the study

Antenatal care service is an important goal concerning in the health status of the pregnant women during their reproductive period and its health beneficial accounting for nearly one quarter of all pregnant worldwide Terry TL (1942)

Through the antenatal care service attempts have been made to identify pregnant women not at risk and those at risk group based on their previous pregnant or currently historical or clinical factors and steps are planned to prevent it in this allegedly high-risk group of women to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes Lincetto et al (2013).

Unfortunately, adverse pregnancy outcome can occur even in women without identifiable risk factors. Numerically, more pregnant women without risk factors have seen to end up with serious adverse outcome compared to those with risk factors during the attendance of antenatal care service Villar J, bergsj P (2002). In order to prevent pregnancy adverse outcome world wide as well as in developing countries, interventions should therefore be targeted at all pregnant women attending antenatal care service and during childbirth Dowswell T, et al. (2013).

Early attendance intervention at the antenatal care service in those with and without risk group pregnant women seems to beneficially in relation of their health  and this intervention that has been promoted as an effective intervention in preventing adverse pregnant outcome Adewoye KR, Musa IO, Atoyebi OA, Babatunde OA (2013).

The need of implementing knowledge, attitude and practice of ANC intervention in pregnant women it has been showed that as a package comprising the following interlocking system includes interventions, early screening, administration of a preventive prophylactic therapy and curative of the various detected risk conditions effectively on the basis of reduced maternal complications Zegey AM, Bitew BD, Koye DN (2013).

Additionally, antenatal care service is not a single intervention; instead, it represents a series of assessments and interventions over time that is not uniformly applied effectively by different health care providers found in developing countries Hajela S (2014).

Although not only  the “quantity” of antenatal care service  is relatively easy to measure through the required  timing and number of visits adjusted for gestational age at delivery but also the “quality” of antenatal care service  and the effectiveness of individual components on outcome are quite difficult to measure. However, the major goal of antenatal care service is to ensure the birth of a healthy baby with minimal risk for the mother.

Despite high ANC attendance in Nigeria, only 14% of pregnant women start ANC during the first trimester as per the national guidelines. The median number of months that women are pregnant at their first visit is 5.4 months. One third of women do not seek ANC until their sixth month or later Tekelab T, Berhanu B (2014). However, early booking has an advantage for proper pregnancy information sharing and pregnancy monitoring

Statement of the problem

In spite of the fact that exercise programs during pregnancy and after childbirth are designed to minimize impairment and help the woman maintain or regain function while she is preparing for the arrival of the baby and then caring for the infant, it is submitted that women are not meeting the exercise recommendations of the previous studies. A myriad of factors not limited to beliefs and attitudes of women with respect to exercise in pregnancy, level of knowledge, level of education, safety concern of the pregnant woman and her physician , race/ethnicity, and previous involvement in regular exercise have been implicated as important factors predisposing to exercise engagement or phobia among pregnant women.Some identifying factors that affect beliefs and behaviors would objectively encourage a change in attitude. Therefore, an assessment of knowledge and attitude about exercise in pregnancy may help to determine whether or not women will participate in exercise during and after pregnancy. This study was designed to assess knowledge and attitude of Nigerian pregnant women towards antenatal exercises.

Purpose of the study

The main objectives of this study is to investigate the knowledge and attitude of child bearing age women toward antenatal care.

The study have the following specific objectives;

1. To assess the extent to which level of maternal awareness influences women’s attendance to antenatal care services in Nigeria
2. To determine how cultural beliefs towards modern reproductive services influences women’s attendance to antenatal care services in Nigeria
3. To establish how economic status influences women’s attendance to antenatal care services in Nigeria

Research Questions.

1. To what extent does the level of maternal awareness influence women’s attendance to antenatal care services in Nigeria
2. How do cultural beliefs towards modern reproductive services influence women’s attendance to antenatal care services in Nigeria
3. How does economic status influence women’s attendance to antenatal care services in Nigeria

  Significance of the study

 

The study is a major step forward in objectively improving the maternal health across the marginalized groups comprising of immigrants especially in Lagos state Nigeria through the identification and subsequent development of appropriate antenatal service provision programs. These programs will enable these communities change attitudes thus reducing the rate of maternal morbidity and mortality among Nigeria women.

The findings of this study will be useful to maternal health care providers who are key stakeholders in the realization of the Millennium Development Goal in relation to the antenatal care.

The Ministry of Health and other health institutions can also use this study to clearly understand the antenatal needs of Nigeria women.

This study also tried to fill the gaps in understanding the status of Nigeria women using Health care services for delivery by identifying determinants of facility delivery in Lagos state and their change over time. By doing so, the findings could inform interventions aimed at improving institutional service provision improvements

  Definitions of significant terms

 

Traditional Birth Attendant- a person who assists the mother during childbirth and who initially acquired her skills by delivering babies herself or through an apprenticeship to other TBAs (WHO 1992)

Awareness- the ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects, thoughts, emotions, or sensory patterns

Reproductive health- a state of physical, mental, and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system, at all stages of life.

Economy – the wealth and resources of an individual, a country or region, especially in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.

Maternal death- the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.

 

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Although the production of milk may come easily, getting it from the breast to the stomach is a skill that requires a little bit of knowledge and a lot of practice. At best, the initial attempts made by a brand-new mother and her infant to breastfeed are a frustrating and unsatisfying failure for both parties involved. However, ensuring that your newborn is positioned correctly is vital for ensuring that they latch on correctly and for reducing nipple discomfort and other difficulties associated with nursing.

The act of transferring milk from a mother to her infant is known as breastfeeding. According to research published by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (2009) and Heckman (2011), breastfeeding is essential to a baby’s ability to live and develop into a healthy adult. Breast milk provides an infant with all of the necessary calories and nutrients for proper growth and development (National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, 2009).

Women who do not have any health issues are encouraged by the policy Statement on Breastfeeding issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). This recommendation states that women should breastfeed their infants exclusively for at least the first six months of their lives (AAP,2012). It is impossible to place enough emphasis on the significance of proper baby nutrition and the critical part that nursing plays in ensuring a child’s continued survival, growth, and development (AAP, 2012).

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that mothers breastfeed their children for a total of two years, that they nurse their children exclusively for the first six months, and that they breastfeed their babies more than eight times per day in the first three months of their lives. According to recommendations made by the AAP, a mother should make every effort to breastfeed her child for the first year of their life.

The rates of exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria are lower than those recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which promotes the practice of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of a baby’s life. This is despite the documented benefits of exclusive breastfeeding during the first months of a child’s life, as well as the difficulties associated with promoting this practice. Breastfeeding a baby has health benefits for both the mother and the child, some of which include lowering the risk of the mother developing gestational diabetes, osteoporosis, and breast cancer. Breastfeeding a baby exclusively for the first six months and then continuing to breastfeed in addition to appropriate solid foods until the baby is twelve months old and beyond also has health benefits. It can also assist women in shedding extra pounds after giving birth, and it can hasten the process by which a woman’s uterus returns to its size and shape before she became pregnant.

There is a possibility that the infants will have a lower chance of developing gastro intestinal sickness, allergies, asthma, diabetes, obesity, certain pediatric cancers, respiratory infections, and diarrhoea. Other potential benefits include these.

According to the WHO Global data on infant and young Child Feeding in Nigeria in the year 2003, 22.3 percent of children were exclusively breastfed for less than 4 months, while 17.2 percent were exclusively breastfed for less than 6 months. These statistics are based on the fact that 17.2 percent of children were exclusively breastfed for less than 6 months. In 2008, the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) found that 17 percent of children had been nursed exclusively for less than 4 months, while 13 percent had been breastfed exclusively for fewer than 6 months. In Southwest Nigeria in the year 2003, the median amount of time spent exclusively breastfeeding a child was seven months.

In the year 2008, it had been for a period of six months. Early commencement of breastfeeding among women in the region was 12.7 percent in the year 2003, but it climbed to 35.5 percent in the year 2008 over the course of the same length of time.

All of these percentages are significantly lower than the level of 90 percent that is suggested by the WHO. As a result, the rate of child mortality stays relatively high in low- and middle-income countries. When looking at selected nations in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has the highest rural death rate for children under the age of five at 242.7 per 1,000. (National Center for Health Statistics (2008); National Population Commission (2009); World Health Organization (2010))

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