Perceptions about reduced antenatal care contacts to a minimum of eight and its associated factors among pregnant women in Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

Background: Scheduling antenatal care (ANC) contacts in line with WHO-recommended minimum of eight can reduce costs for pregnant women and health systems without compromising quality of care. Objectives: Assess how pregnant women perceive reduced frequency of scheduled ANC contacts from a minimum of twelve to eight and associated factors. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 363 pregnant women receiving ANC in Nigeria. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25; Chicago, IL. Results: Mean age of respondents was 30.5 ± 5.2 years. Majority had previous ANC experience in at least 1 previous pregnancy (61.7%), were satisfied (79.6%) with the ANC received, and had a negative perception (63.9%; 95%CI: 59.3% - 68.0%) of reduced frequency of scheduled ANC contacts. Satisfaction with ANC received, low social class, and living far from the hospital were the predictors of negative perception. Conclusion: Women who were satisfied with the traditional model of ANC received, tend to perceive a reduction in the frequency of scheduled ANC contacts negatively. Low social class and living far from the hospital were other predictors of negative perception. Therefore, the characteristics and community features of the population being served should underlie the decision on the frequency of scheduled ANC contacts.