- Title
- Barriers to utilisation of antenatal care services in Bloemfontein, sub-district of Mangaung Metro, Free State, South Africa
- Creator
- Montshiwa, Kgalalelo Christine
- Subject
- Prenatal care
- Date
- 2022-11
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26995
- Identifier
- vital:66212
- Description
- Background: Maternal and child mortality remain a global health problem, regardless of preventative measures put in place. Antenatal care is crucial to decrease maternal and child morbidity and mortality. However, in Bloemfontein, the sub-district of Mangaung Metro in the Free State, it has been identified that women utilise this kind of service sub-optimally. The study aimed to explore and describe barriers to the utilisation of antenatal care by pregnant women in the Bloemfontein sub-district of Mangaung Metro. Methodology: This study was qualitative and used an explorative, descriptive design. Qualitative data was collected by using focus group discussions and key informants’ interviews. Three focus group discussions with twenty-five pregnant and lactating mothers, aged between 18 and 49 years, were conducted. Participants took part in one focus group discussion at each healthcare facility. Four key informant interviews were conducted with four facility managers and one professional midwife who conducted ANC at the clinic at the time of the study in the three healthcare facilities. A thematic analysis process was used to analyse the collected qualitative data under each identified barrier. The STATA version 15 was used in the analysis of the demographic characteristics of the participants. Results: Most of the participants indicated that they are aware of the importance of attending ANC appointments however, they have voiced that the delayed waiting times and staff attitudes contribute to how they feel about visiting a clinic early. Some of the participants mentioned that they have cultural barriers as they still believe that a traditional pregnant woman should not reveal her pregnancy in the early days but must rather wait until her stomach has grown significantly for her to visit the clinic. Two participants indicated that they had unplanned pregnancies and wanted to do an abortion, but their religious beliefs prevented them to choose to terminate their pregnancies. Economically, not all participants complained about their financial situation though the majority were unemployed and single. Participants from the Bloemspruit facility complained of transport as they stay far from the clinic and they are sometimes forced to walk alone which makes it difficult to attend all their booked sessions with their midwives. The results of the study revealed that there are several factors contributing to late antenatal care attendance namely provider and personal factors contributing to late antenatal care attendance in the Bloemfontein sub-district of Mangaung Metro. Personal factors that were found to be contributing to late antenatal care booking were lack of transport, especially for Bloemspruit participants, unwanted pregnancy, lack of financial support, lack of partner support, cultural and religious beliefs, and lack of knowledge. Provider factors that were found to be contributing to late booking were lack of resources like tools of the trade, long waiting times, poor infrastructure, human resources, and midwives’ attitudes. Recommendations. To deploy qualified midwives to conduct antenatal care clinics, to extend the service over the weekends as participants mentioned that they struggle to get time off from work during the week. Health promotion and community awareness campaigns on the importance of antenatal care may increase the utilisation of antenatal care services.
- Description
- Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, 2023
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (137 leaves)
- Format
- Publisher
- University of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Fort Hare
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details | SOURCE1 | MONTSHIWA KC 201928117 Mini dissertation.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |