Table 2.
Descriptive statistics of the study participants depicting the healthcare-seeking behaviour in the antenatal period during the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
| Bathinda | Faridkot | Muktsar | Total | P value | |
| Total | 742 (100) | 532 (100) | 100 (100) | 1374 (100) | |
| Difficulties faced during the lockdown | 633 (85.3) | 465 (87.4) | 97 (97) | 1195 (87) | <0.01 |
| Type of difficulties faced | |||||
| Nutrition | 558 (75.2) | 400 (75.2) | 93 (93.0) | 1051 (76.5) | <0.001 |
| Ultrasonography appointment | 299 (40.3) | 292 (54.9) | 78 (78.0) | 669 (48.7) | <0.05 |
| Transportation | 268 (36.1) | 152 (28.6) | 66 (66.0) | 486 (35.4) | <0.001 |
| Healthcare provider access | 155 (20.9) | 126 (23.7) | 27 (27.0) | 308 (22.4) | >0.05 |
| ANC investigations | 172 (23.2) | 88 (16.5) | 36 (36.0) | 296 (21.5) | <0.001 |
| Dietary Supplements | 69 (9.3) | 48 (9.0) | 8 (8.0) | 125 (9.1) | >0.05 |
| Immunisation against tetanus | 16 (2.2) | 2 (0.4) | 0 | 18 (1.3) | <0.05 |
| Gestational age at the time of first visit to health facility | <0.001 | ||||
| First trimester | 642 (86.4) | 451 (84.8) | 72 (72) | 1165 (84.7) | |
| Second trimester | 97 (13.1) | 78 (14.7) | 28 (28) | 203 (14.8) | |
| Third trimester | 3 (0.4) | 3 (0.6) | 0 | 6 (2.3) | |
| Number of hospital visits during the pregnancy | <0.001 | ||||
| Nil | 23 | 5 (0.9) | 1 (1) | 29 (2.1) | |
| 1 | 78 (10.5) | 30 (5.6) | 12 (12) | 120 (8.7) | |
| 2 | 341 (46) | 232 (43.6) | 76 (76) | 649 (47.2) | |
| 3 | 205 (27.6) | 165 (31.0) | 10 (10) | 380 (27.7) | |
| 4 | 84 (11.3) | 92 (17.3) | 1 (1) | 177 (12.9) | |
| 5 | 11 (1.5) | 8 (1.5) | 0 | 19 (1.4) | |
| Number of ultrasonographic scans done to assess fetal well-being | <0.001 | ||||
| Nil | 5 (0.7) | 8 (1.5) | 1 (1) | 14 (1.0) | |
| 1 | 100 (13.5) | 53 (10.0) | 7 (7) | 160 (11.6) | |
| 2 | 320 (43.1) | 157 (29.5) | 50 (50) | 527 (38.4) | |
| 3 | 295 (39.8) | 280 (52.6) | 39 (39) | 614 (44.7) | |
| >3 | 22(3) | 34 (6.4) | 3 (3) | 59 (4.3) | |
| Purpose of the ultrasonographic scan | |||||
| Dating | 355 (47.8) | 342 (64.30 | 30 (30) | 727 (52.9) | <0.001 |
| Second Trimester | 355 (47.8) | 342 (64.30 | 30 (30) | 727 (52.9) | >0.05 |
| Level 2 USG | 199 (26.8) | 386 (72.6) | 13 (13) | 435 (31.7) | <0.001 |
| Growth scan | 618 (83.3) | 449 (84.4) | 93 (93) | 1160 (84.4) | >0.05 |
| ANM/ASHA visited home during pregnancy | <0.01 | ||||
| Yes | 492 (66.3) | 388 (72.9) | 78 (78) | 958 (69.7) | |
| No | 250 (33.7) | 144 (27.1) | 22 (22) | 416 (30.3) |
ANC, antenatal care; ANM, Auxiliary Nurse Midwives; ASHA, Accredited Social Health Activist; USG, ultrasonography.