Determinants of utilization of antenatal care services in developing countries: Recent evidence from Ghana

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the key socio-economic and demographic factors influencing the utilization of antenatal care services in Ghana. The study finds that wealth status, age, ownership of health insurance (especially for rural women), educational attainment, birth order, religion and administrative region of residence are significant predictors of the intensity of antenatal care services utilization. In particular, the utilization rate increases in wealth status. The authors also found significant statistical relationship between residence and antenatal care utilization. This finding reinforces the differences in health facilities between the rural and urban areas of Ghana. The authors did not, however, find evidence for proxies for financial and physical access.