Maternal Pregnancy Intention and Antenatal Care Seeking Behaviors in Bangladesh: Evidence From Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2018

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between pregnancy intention and antenatal care (ANC)-seeking behaviors among women in Bangladesh. Methods: ANC-related data of 5,012 women, from the 2018 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), who had a live birth within 3 years preceding the survey were analyzed in the study. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association of pregnancy intention with ANC utilization. Results: Approximately one-fifth (20.9%) of the women had unintended pregnancy. Among all the women, 40.4% received their first ANC visit within the first three months of pregnancies, 47% had at least four ANC visits, 26.1% received all the components of ANC services, and 22.2% received an adequate dosage of supplementary iron-folic acid tablets/syrup. Women with unintended pregnancy were less likely to receive their first ANC visit within the first 3 months, four or more ANC visits, and all ANC services than those with intended pregnancy. Conclusion: Unintended pregnancy was inversely associated with the proper utilization of ANC among women in Bangladesh. Appropriate measures to reduce unintended pregnancy might foster the utilization of optimum antenatal care.