Compliance to prenatal care among pregnant women at Panglima Estino, Province of Sulu: an assessment

Abstract

This study assessed the extent of compliance to prenatal care among pregnant women in Panglima Estino, Province of Sulu in terms of Awareness to Prenatal Care, Family Tradition, Cultural Belief and Practices, Availability to Health Care Facilities, Financial Constraints and Accessibility, and Language and Communication Barriers. With 100 samples taken through non-probability sampling method via purposive sampling, and with the use of weighted mean, standard deviation, t-test for independent samples, One-way ANOVA, and Pearson’s r, this study reveals the following findings: 1) Most of the respondents are within the age range of 31-40 years old, all are married, mostly are unemployed with 5,000 & below monthly income, and have secondary level of education; 2) On the average, there is a moderate extent of compliance of pregnant women to prenatal care; 3) Generally, variables age, civil status, occupation, average monthly income, and educational attainment indeed significantly mediate in ways how pregnant women assessed the extent of compliance of pregnant women to prenatal care; 4) Generally, the group of respondents who perceived the extent of compliance to prenatal care among pregnant women in Panglima Estino, Province of Sulu in terms of Awareness to Prenatal Care as Agree or with High Extent may not necessarily be the same group of respondents who perceived Family Tradition, Cultural Belief and Practices, Availability to Health Care Facilities, Financial Constraints and Accessibility, and Language and Communication Barriers as Moderately Agree or with Moderate Extent, respectively; and 5) This study supports the principle forwarded by Mosammet Khaleda Akter which espouses that, to reduce the ratio of maternal and infant mortality and to improve overall birth outcomes, adequate prenatal care is recommended. Adequate prenatal care is one of the core interventions for improving maternal and fetal outcomes where evidence suggests that access to adequate prenatal care is strongly associated with substantial reductions in mortality and morbidity for both mother and newborn.