Antenatal Care Service Utilization Among Adolescent Pregnant Women–Evidence From Swabhimaan Programme in India

Purpose: Pregnant adolescent girls (15–19 years) are more vulnerable to poor health and nutrition than adult pregnant women because of marginalization and lack of knowledge about the antenatal care (ANC) services. The present study aims to test this hypothesis and assess determinants of ANC service utilization among currently adolescent pregnant women. Methods: Data were drawn from the baseline survey of SWABHIMAAN project, which had been conducted in three states of India: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. Out of a total 2,573 pregnant women (15–49 years) included in the sample, about 10% (N = 278) were adolescent girls (15–19 years) at the time of the survey, and the rest were adults. Sample was selected from the population using simple random sampling, and information was collected using pretested questionnaires. Results: For all indicators of ANC service utilization, performance of adolescent pregnant women was better than adult pregnant women. However, significant variations were reported in the level of services received by adult pregnant women for different indicators. Religion, wealth, food insecurity, Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Day meeting, Public Distribution System and Integrated Child Development Services entitlements, and knowledge of family planning methods had a significant effect on the ANC service utilization. Conclusion: Adolescent pregnant women have shown better utilization of selected indicators than their adult counterparts. Utilization of full ANC services starting from first trimester itself for adolescent pregnant women is an urgent need in present context. Intervention program must pay attention to such adolescent married girls who are entering into the motherhood phase of their lives.