Antenatal care among currently married women in Rajasthan, India

ObjectiveTo assess the utilization of antenatal care (ANC) services among currently married women in Rajasthan.MethodsThe data have been extracted from District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-3) which was conducted during 2007-2008, all over India. A total of 12 458 currently married women in the age group of 15-49 were taken as the sample for the study. Cross tabulation and binary logistic regression method were applied to determine the factors influencing ANC.ResultsOut of 12 458 respondents, 43.4 percent women not received even a single ANC during their pregnancy period. 45.1 percent of the women not received tetanus toxoid injection and 13.0 percent of the women not received Iron folic acid tablets during their pregnancy period. Only 6.6 percent of women fulfilled the minimum recommendation with regard ANC services.ConclusionsThe study points to the avenues through which policy makers can formulate and implement policies on a realistic basis by identifying critical variables and target groups for effective utilisation of ANC.