Correlates of Antenatal Care Usage and Timing among Adolescent Mothers in Nigeria

Christiana A. Alex-Ojei, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria
Clifford O. Odimegwu, University of the Witwatersrand

Adolescent mothers’ utilisation of antenatal care services in Nigeria is low, despite the fact that they require healthcare for optimal pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, this study examined selected correlates of adolescent mothers’ antenatal care utilisation in Nigeria. It used pooled data from the women’s recode dataset of the Nigeria DHS between 2003-2013, with a weighted sample size of 3,208. Data were analysed using frequency distributions, chi square and binary and multinomial logistic regression. Results showed that being at 16 or older at birth, having at least primary education, rich wealth status and participating in healthcare decision-making increased chances of antenatal care use among adolescent mothers, while mothers with secondary and higher education, and those who participated in healthcare decision-making were more likely to book early for antenatal care. Therefore, attention must be given to adolescent mothers from lower socioeconomic strata with low decision-making ability to enable them access antenatal care optimally.