Gestational age at first antenatal attendance in Kano, northern Nigeria.

Abstract

Objectives:
To determine the gestational age at which women register for antenatal care and the reason why they register at that time.

Methods:
A structured questionnaire was administered by trained personnel to the women attending the Thursday booking clinic in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano. The questionnaire contains the bio-social characteristics of the respondents, gestational age, parity and reason(s) for booking at that time.

Results:
Majority (62.4%) of the women were aged between 20 and 29 years. The mean gestational age at booking was 24 weeks. Ninety two per cent of the women booked in the second and third trimesters. Fifty-seven per cent had no specific reason for booking at the time they did, while 6% booked late because they just relocated.

Conclusion:
Majority of our women book late for antenatal care. Health education with
emphasis on the benefits of booking in the first trimester of pregnancy is advocated. Service providers should also develop a referral system for those pregnant women relocating to new stations.



Keywords: Gestational age, booking, pregnancy, antenatal care, Kano.

Highland Medical Research Journal Vol. 5 (1) 2007 pp. 75-78