Relationship of Antenatal Care with the Prevention of Maternal Mortality among Pregnant Women in Bauchi State Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of antenatal care with the prevention of maternal mortality among pregnant women in Bauchi state. An ex-post facto research design was used to study 308 subjects drawn from six local government areas in Bauchi state. The subjects were drawn through stratified random sampling techniques. A close ended questionnaire was used to obtain responses from the subjects. Data collected for this study were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics of person product moment correlation analysis, 0.05 level of significance was used for all tests of significance. Two research questions were asked and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Findings showed that, significance relationship existed between level of awareness and the prevention of maternal mortality among pregnant women in Bauchi state; significant relationship existed between level of utilization of antenatal care services among pregnant women and prevention of maternal mortality in Bauchi state. Based on the findings above, the following recommendations were made: health professionals should intensify enlightenment campaign on the benefits of antenatal care in Bauchi state. Pregnant women should be encouraged to attend antenatal care services regularly as soon as possible for early detection of risk factors, resulting to maternal mortality. Government should provide adequate facilities and equipment of antenatal care in Bauchi state