Knowledge, uptake, and factors associated with preconception care services among reproductive-age women in Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality, Ghana: a community-based cross-sectional study

Preconception services are interventions for women before pregnancy to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes. Unfortunately, the uptake of this service is poor, particularly in developing countries such as Ghana. Maternal age, marital status, educational level, and the availability of a unit for preconception are factors found to affect the uptake of preconception care services. This study investigated the knowledge, uptake, and factors associated with preconception care services among reproductive-age women in Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality. This was a community-based cross-sectional study of 281 women of reproductive age (WRA) within the Tarkwa-Nsuaem municipality. Multistage random sampling was employed to recruit the study participants from 1st November 2022 to 30th December 2022. A pretested and researcher-administered structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. The data were analysed via Stata 16.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine factors associated with uptake. A p value less than 0.05 was considered significant at the 95% confidence level. Among the specific components of preconception care (PCC) assessed (folic acid supplementation, vaccination, family planning, genetic screening, and avoidance of hazardous environments), folic acid supplementation was the most recognized, with 38.8% of participants being aware of it. Uptake of preconception care services was 17.4%. Overall, 24.6% of women had adequate knowledge of preconception care (71.4% among women who accessed these services versus 14.7% among those who did not). The main factor associated with PCC uptake was knowledge status; women with adequate knowledge had about 14 times the odds of using preconception care services compared with those with inadequate knowledge [AOR = 13.8; 95% CI 6.1–31.5; p < 0.001]. Knowledge of preconception care components and uptake of preconception care services were both low among reproductive-age women in Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality, Ghana. Adequate knowledge was strongly associated with uptake, although the cross-sectional design cannot establish the direction of this association. Efforts to improve women’s awareness of the components and benefits of preconception care merit consideration, and longitudinal studies are needed to test whether better knowledge increases uptake.