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Abstract Timely initiation of antenatal care services can decrease the risk of various pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes. The report of recent NFHS-5 revealed that only 70 women had their first ANC visit within 1st trimester of pregnancy per 100 women in India. Therefore, the present study aims to identify key drivers of late initiation of antenatal care services among women aged 15–49 years in India. The study used cross-sectional survey data obtained from NFHS-5. A total of 164,235 ever-married women aged 15–49 years who had at least one live birth preceding the survey have been taken as samples in this study. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression have been analyzed to execute the result. A sizeable proportion of women commenced antenatal care visit after the first trimester of pregnancy. Late initiation of ANC visit is observed in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, and northeastern states except Manipur, and Mizoram. The result of multivariable analysis indicated that women’s age, age at marriage, birth order, place of residence, caste, religion, education level, mass media exposure, wealth quintile, and region are significantly associated with late initiation of ANC services among women in India. Therefore, the study findings suggested that the government should focus on improving maternal education and boosting the access and utilization of ANC coverage among pregnant women for the overall well-being of maternal and natal health.
Majumder et al. (Tue,) studied this question.