81 percent women in J&K utilised full Antenatal care

SRINAGAR: Nearly four-fifths (81%) of mothers in Jammu and Kashmir had at least four antenatal care visits for their last birth.
Antenatal care (ANC) is the care provided by skilled healthcare professionals to women throughout their pregnancy. It includes risk identification and screening, prevention and management of pregnancy-related or concurrent diseases, and health education and promotion.
According to the National Health Family Survey-5 (NHFS), “Maternal Health describes the utilization of antenatal care, delivery care, and postnatal care by women who reported their last births in the five years preceding the survey. It also shows the extent of male involvement in maternal health care”.
The survey regarding antenatal care in Jammu and Kashmir reads, Among mothers who gave birth in the five years preceding the survey, more than 9 in 10 received antenatal care for their last birth from a health professional (86% from a doctor and 8% from an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM), lady health visitor (LHV), nurse, or midwife). Four percent did not receive any antenatal care (ANC).
Among mothers who gave birth in the five years preceding the survey, 98 percent registered the pregnancy for the most recent live birth. Among the registered pregnancies, 97 percent received a Mother and Child Protection Card (MCP Card), it added.
“Over four-fifths, (87%) of women received antenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy, as is recommended. Eighty-one percent of mothers had four or more antenatal care visits. Urban women were more likely to have four or more antenatal care visits than rural women”, the survey reads.
Since NFHS-4, there has been an increase in the percentage of mothers who had an antenatal checkup in the first trimester (from 77% to 87%). However, the proportion of women who had four or more antenatal care visits remains the same from NFHS -4 to NFHS-5(81% in each round), it added.
For 73 percent of their last births, mothers received iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements. Still, only 30 percent consumed them for the recommended 100 days or more, and only 16 percent consumed them for the newly recommended 180 days or more. Ninety-two percent of last births were protected against neonatal tetanus through tetanus toxoid vaccinations given to the mother. Nine percent of mothers took an intestinal parasite drug during pregnancy.
Among women with a live birth in the five years preceding the survey who met with a community health worker in the last three months of pregnancy for their most recent live birth, more than four-fifth of women received advice on each of the five different areas (94% received advice on breastfeeding, 93% on keeping the baby warm, 92% on the importance of institutional delivery, 91% on cord care, and 87% on family planning).
“Even when women receive antenatal care, sometimes they do not receive all the services needed to monitor their pregnancy. In Jammu & Kashmir, almost all of women who received antenatal care for their last birth received each of the services needed to monitor their pregnancy: having a urine sample taken (99%), having a blood sample taken (99%), their blood pressure measured (99%), having their weight taken (98%), and having their abdomen examined (97%)”, it reads.
An ultrasound test was performed during 94 percent of pregnancies in the five years preceding the survey, it added.
“Women with at least 10 or more years of schooling (96%) were much more likely to have an ultrasound test than women with no schooling (92%). In Jammu & Kashmir, ultrasound test were not affected by number of living sons. For example, among women with two children, the likelihood of having ultrasound test during next pregnancy are almost similar among women those with no sons (93%) than those who had at least one son (92%)”, the survey reads.