Authors : John Mayor Marial

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 3 - March

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26mar800

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Abstract : Background Antenatal care is a care provided to women during pregnancy, aiming to achieve the health of the baby and mother after birth. It involved early diagnosis, follow-up and prevention of health problems that may complicate pregnancy and childbirth. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended at least eight antenatal contacts before delivery. South Sudan has the highest maternal mortality ratios, at 1,223 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, with ANC attendance of 16%, as reported by the WHO.  The objectives  To assess knowledge of the importance of antenatal care and its association with ANC attendance.  To determine other factors that hinder antenatal care visits, rather than ANC knowledge.  To investigate cultural beliefs that hinder ANC visits among pregnant women.  Methodology: The study was conducted in Aweil State Hospital from July to September 2025. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. 125 mothers in the 2nd trimester and above, residents of Northern Bahr El Ghazal for the last 6 months were included. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire, and it was analysed using Excel, SPSS version 26 and STATA software.  Results: Respondents had very poor levels of knowledge about ANC benefits (78.4%, n=98), investigations and examinations (82.3%, n=102) and health education messages (86.4%, n=108). The Chi-square test showed no association between formal education and ANC knowledge, with a p-value =0.081. There were no cultural beliefs against the ANC.  Conclusion Knowledge deficit and high attendance among participants contradict findings in most of the literature that link knowledge of ANC to high ANC attendance; the knowledge gap on ANC needs to be reinforced during ANC contacts. However, a large-scale community-based cross-sectional study to address the selection bias inherent in this hospital-based study and to generate findings generalize to the larger population of South Sudan is strongly recommended.

Keywords : Antenatal Care, Knowledge, Contacts, Education.

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