Utilization of Pre-Conceptional Care among Pregnant Women Attending Teaching Hospital, Chitwan, Nepal

Pre-conceptional care refers to a group of interventions such as advice, treatment, and management that are given before pregnancy to improve the health and well-being of women and couples as well as outcomes of pregnancy and childbirth. Hence, this study aimed to find out the utilization of pre-conceptional care among pregnant women attending a teaching hospital. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among pregnant women at Chitwan Medical College, Nepal, from September 24 to October 20, 2023.   A total of 126 pregnant women who had completed 12 weeks of gestation, reported planned pregnancy, and attended Chitwan Medical College for antenatal care services were selected using a non-probability convenience sampling technique. Ethical approval was obtained prior to data collection. Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, measures of central tendency along with measures of dispersion) were used to summarize data. Out of 126 pregnant women, a percentage received advice from a health care provider about a nutritious diet, used folic acid up to 3 months after pregnancy, managed pre-existing medical conditions, and avoided/stopped taking any forms of drugs without a prescription. Most of the respondents avoided exposure to environmental health hazards (84.1%). However, only more than half of the women used folic acid during the pre-conception period (54.8%), and 58.4% received genetic counseling about hereditary disease. This study found that despite the availability and accessibility of the services, the utilization of pre-conceptional services among pregnant women is low, especially in receiving medical service/information regarding infertility/subfertility. Hence, health care agencies should conduct awareness programs about pre-conceptional care, and the Nepal government should strengthen the implementation of a preconception care package as per WHO guidelines.