Improving knowledge of antenatal care (ANC) among pregnant women: a field trial in central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

The need for reducing maternal mortality has become a paramount concern in developing countries including Indonesia. One of the strategies for reducing maternal mortality in Indonesia is the provision of antenatal care (ANC). Previous studies have reported the advantages and disadvantages of ANC. The purpose of this study is to ascertain if a new approach to ANC can improve pregnant women's knowledge of its benefits. An experimental design with 60 pregnant women from 10 cluster villages is used in this study. The intervention group received the new approach to ANC, while the control group received routine ANC. The findings show that the improvement of knowledge in the intervention group is significant particularly in the knowledge about healthy pregnancy (p=0.012), pregnancy complications (p=0.01), safe birth (p=0.01) and taking care of the newborn (p=0.012). The improvement of knowledge was significantly influenced by the respondents' educational back ground (p=0.002) and socio-economic status (p=0.027). This study recommends that the new approach to ANC be considered to educate pregnant women regarding safe birth and it is considered as one of the strategies that may be adopted to reduce maternal mortality.