RESEARCH BRIEF
All pregnant women in Ghana can receive antenatal care for free, directly reducing mortality and morbidity. Our study assessed the coverage of antenatal care services in 4 hospitals in the Ashanti region of Ghana and the quality of implementation of the services. 895 pregnant women were interviewed at 36 or more weeks of gestation.
Key findings:
There was relatively high uptake of key interventions for malaria among pregnant women:
- 96% of women received at least 1 dose of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP-IPTp).
- 63% of women received 3 or more doses of SP-IPTp.
- 88% of pregnant women owned insecticide-treated nets, but only 58% of women slept under one before the survey.
- 100% of women received iron and folate supplements.
Challenges:
- Challenges were identified with records keeping.
- There were discrepancies between records kept in the registers and those forwarded to the district.
Recommendations:
- We recommend regular training is needed of new antenatal clinic staff.
- Supervision is advised by health information officers of the Ghana Health Service.