Antenatal Care Visit Attendance Frequency and Birth Outcomes in Rural Uganda: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Objectives Antenatal care (ANC) is designed to improve pregnancy outcomes by providing screening and treatment for preventable and treatable diseases. However, data are lacking on whether ANC affects stillbirth risk. We hypothesized stillbirth risk in Uganda is lower in women attending the recommended ≥ 4 ANC visits compared to those attending ≤ 3.

Methods We performed a secondary analysis of subset of 1,785 women enrolled in a prospective cohort of postpartum infection who presented to a regional referral hospital for delivery. Our primary outcome was documented stillbirth; a secondary composite poor birth outcome included stillbirth, early neonatal death, low birth weight (< 2500 g), and 5-min APGAR score < 7. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses to identify independent correlates of stillbirth and poor birth outcome.

Results Of 1,785 participants, 58 (3%) pregnancies resulted in stillbirth and 198 (11%) had a poor birth outcome. Of 1,236 women attending ≥ 4 ANC visits, 31 (2.5%) had a stillbirth, compared to 27/510 (5.2%) attending ≤ 3. In multivariable analyses controlling for age, parity, distance traveled, referral status to hospital, malaria prophylaxis, and syphilis infection; attending ≥ 4 ANC visits was associated with significantly reduced odds of stillbirth (aOR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3–0.9, P = 0.02) and poor birth outcome (aOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.4–0.96, P = 0.03). Malaria prophylaxis was also independently associated with reduced odds of stillbirth (aOR 0.05, 95% CI 0.2–1.0, P = 0.04).

Conclusions Attending ≥ 4 ANC visits was associated with reduced odds of stillbirth and poor birth outcomes in this Ugandan cohort, which may be related to more comprehensive infection screening, treatment, and prevention services.