RESUMO
A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Gulele district; Addis Ababa to describe antenatal attendance; the women's characteristics and their reasons for choosing place of delivery. 441 women in their third trimester responded to a pretested questionnaire. Only 15.9 per cent of the respondents made their first visits during the first trimester; while 35.8 per cent attended in the second trimester; and 9.5 per cent in the beginning of the third trimester. A total of 38.8 per cent claimed they never attended antenatal clinics at all. In a multivariate analysis the risk of non-attendance was high for those pregnant women whose income was low (OR 1.77; 95 per cent CI: 1.44; 2.76); whose husband's or partner's attitude was negative or unknown; (OR 2.63; 95 per cent CI: 1.9; 3.64); who were first pregnant at the age 10 to 18 years (OR 1.85; 95 per cent CI: 1.20; 2.81); and low for nullipara (OR 0.52; 95 per cent CI: 0.33; 0.82). Three-quarters of the respondents preferred to deliver in health institutions and then rest at home. The most frequent reason for preference of place of delivery (40.8 per cent) was quality of service. The risk of choosing to deliver at home was high for those who were illiterate (OR 1.5; 95 per cent CI: 1.57; 2.00); for those whose partner's or husband's attitude toward antenatal care attendance was negative or unknown; (OR 2.19; 95 per cent CI: 1.34; 2.49) and for those who did not attend antenatal clinics (OR 2.19; 95 per cent CI: 1.69; 2.96). It was low for the nulliparae (OR 0.52; 95 per cent CI: 0.3; 0.9)