Determinants Associated with Frequency of Antenatal Care Visits in Uttar Pradesh: Results from Demographic Health Survey

Introduction: Despite advancements in maternal healthcare in recent years, antenatal care (ANC) visits in India remain relatively low and unequal, particularly across states. For instance, in 2015–2016, only 26.4% of women in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) received at least four antenatal visits. Using data from the fifth round of the Demographic Health Survey, this study seeks to investigate the factors influencing antenatal visit in U.P. Methodology:This analysis includes women aged 15–49 years who had their most recent live birth within the past five years (n = 25,774). The outcome variable, "adequate antenatal care visits," is defined as having four or more ANC visits. Logistic regression was applied to examine the association between explanatory variables and ANC visits, with associations considered statistically significant at p < 0.05. Results: In U.P., only 41.6% of women had taken adequate ANC visits. Regression analysis indicated that women with higher education, belonging to higher wealth quantiles, residing in urban areas, having two or fewer children, aged 25–29, and whose husbands were more educated had higher odds of adequate ANC visits. Conclusion: Nearly 58% of pregnant women in U.P. had not receive the adequate ANC visits. Given the factors associated with at least four ANC visits, it is essential to develop targeted strategies to meet government recommendations as soon as possible, ensuring that every pregnant woman in Uttar Pradesh receives adequate antenatal visits during pregnancy. Key words: Antenatal care visits, demographic health survey, Uttar Pradesh.