Farrow, Jim (PhD)Mesfin, Mengiste2018-09-212023-11-052018-09-212023-11-051994-05http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/12072A community based cross sectional s tudy was carried out in Arsi zone to investigate factors that affect women's use of ANC and to see the utilization pattern of prenatal care. 1204 women in their 3rd trimester of pregnancy and 801 in the 3 months post delivery from 4 towns with access to ANC service were included as study subjects. A pretested questionnaire was administered to collect data on study variables. The study found that about 52.2% of women had not attended antenatal clinics at all, and only 32.5% of women attenders had their first visit in the first trimester of pregnancy. About 45.2% of attenders had one or two prenatal visits while few (10.6%) had the recommended 5 visits. Reasons for attendance were found to be non-specific . The main reason for non-attendance at ANC clinic were related to lack of knowledge of the need for ANC, and lack of time. Analysis showed that the chance of non-attendance was higher for those women in the older age group, widows and divorced women, and those with no formal schooling, low monthly income, high parity and many living children. The probability of non-attendance was higher for those with unplanned pregnancy and those who had negative attitudes to the v current pregnancy . Family problems and lack of time were also found to influence their attendance at ANC clinic. In this study, those who had perceived any illness as dangerous were more likely to be attenders of the service. Women who thought that they might develop dangerous health problems during pregnancy were also more likely to use the service. Recommendations concerning the improvement of ANC service and use are proposed.enDeterminants of Antenatal Care UtilizationThesis