Antenatal care services utilization during COVID-19 second wave attack in Pasuruan, Indonesia.

ABSTRACT

Indonesia is currently experiencing the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting maternal health services and maternal mortality. This research aims to investigate the use of antenatal care (ANC) during the COVID-19 second wave and the factors that play a role in this situation. A cross-sectional study was conducted during July 2021 on 344 pregnant women in primary, secondary, and tertiary maternal health care facilities in Pasuruan Regency, Indonesia. The data collection technique was simple random sampling, with face-to-face interviews assisted by questionnaires. Logistic regression and adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI and p<0.05 were performed to identify a significant relationship. 136 (39.5%) pregnant women did not use ANC services during the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak. Husband's support (AOR=13.814, 95% CI 8.090-23.588), believing that pregnant women are not afraid of contracting COVID-19 (AOR=6.501, 95% CI 3.904-10.825), easy access to transportation (AOR=12.145, 95% CI 6.186-23.846), ease of ANC fees (AOR=4.105, 95% CI 2.424-6.950), no lockdown policy (AOR=3.130, 95% CI 1.983-4.940), knowledge regarding COVID-19 (AOR=2.975, 95% CI 1.793-4.938), COVID-19 information on social media (AOR=3.035, 95% CI 1.179-7.815), COVID-19 prevention protocols in health facilities (AOR=8.478, 95% CI 3.611-19.903) were predictors of ANC utilization. This encourages the importance of prioritizing health services for pregnant women during the pandemic, overcoming the fear of contracting COVID-19 through maternal education, husband support, easy access to ANC, and improving the quality of ANC service facilities.