Client Perception of Antenatal Care Services at Primary Health Centers in an Urban Area of Lagos, Nigeria

Maternal morbidity and mortality has remained unacceptably high in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, despite concerted efforts at its reduction, by various stakeholders and development partners. A major determinant of pregnancy outcome is the quality of care received during pregnancy and the utilization of available services by pregnant women. This study assessed the perception of clients accessing antenatal care services at the Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) in Mushin Area of Lagos State. About 300 pregnant women were selected through systematic random sampling from three PHCs offering full maternal health services in Mushin. Data was collected with the aid of interviewer-administered, semi-structured questionnaires. Data analysis was done using SPSS 14.00. The mean age of respondents was 30.68 ± 6.74 years. Most respondents (42.5%) were aged between 20 and 29 years. About 92.0% of respondents perceived the environmental conditions of service delivery as good; 52.2% felt the record retrieval system was good, while 1.7% who felt it was poor. The health education sessions were perceived as being good by 84.3%, while only 1.0% felt it was poor. The obstetric examinations were perceived as being good by 66.6% of respondents, while 3.0% felt the service was poor. Improved funding of health services at the local government / district level as well as continuous health education, will help to optimize the quality and utilization of antenatal care services at the PHCs in developing countries, like Nigeria.