Calculating the uptake of antenatal care services
Antenatal care coverage is defined as the proportion of pregnant women attended at least once during the current pregnancy by a health professional such as a Health Extension Practitioner, for reasons related to the pregnancy. Calculating the antenatal care 'first visit' coverage provides information on the percentage of women who use antenatal care services.
The antenatal care coverage rate (or ANC coverage rate) is calculated as the total number of pregnant women attended at least once during their pregnancy by a health professional for reasons relating to the pregnancy, divided by the total number of expected pregnancies during a given time period (usually one year) in the catchment area. The result is expressed as a percentage by multiplying by 100.
For example, if the total number of first antenatal visits = 100, and the total number of pregnancies = 200, then the antenatal care coverage in your community will be 50%, calculated as written below:
Why do you think the calculation of the antenatal care coverage rate in your community is important?
It enables you and your supervisor to see whether your efforts to promote the uptake of antenatal care services are successful. For example, if the antenatal care coverage rate was 50% of pregnant women before you began a health promotion campaign to increase uptake of antenatal care services, you could claim your campaign was successful if the uptake rose to 60% or more.