Table 2.
Reasons of late first ANC in the 129 participants who started booking ANC after 12 weeks
| Reason | Frequency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Financial difficulties | 45 | 34.5 |
| Busy schedule | 25 | 19.4 |
| Uncertainty of pregnancy | 9 | 7.0 |
| Fatigue | 3 | 2.3 |
| Unawareness of gestational age | 2 | 1.6 |
| Laziness | 8 | 6.2 |
| Thought this was the right time to come | 12 | 9.3 |
| Long distance to the hospital | 45 | 34.5 |
| In apparent good health | 18 | 14.0 |
The mean gestational age at booking was 14 weeks ±1.2 week. Amongst the 293 first ANC attendants, 129 participants (44.0%) started their booking ANC late (after 12 weeks of gestation). As shown on Fig. 2, for those who started their first ANC late, 68.2% (30.0% of total) started between 20th -28th of gestation. The commonest reasons of late first ANC advanced by these 129 participants were financial difficulties (34.5%, 45), long distances to the hospital (34.5%, 45) and busy schedule (19.4%, 25). Other reasons advanced by these women for late initiation of ANC are as shown on Table 2