Utilization of Antenatal Care and Skilled Birth Delivery Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Scoping Review

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 21; no. 4; p. 440
• Main Authors: Lateef, Monsurat A, Kuupiel, Desmond, Mchunu, Gugu G, Pillay, Julian D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 03-04-2024
• Subjects: Africa South of the Sahara; Delivery, Obstetric - statistics & numerical data; Female; Health care access; Health facilities; Health services; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Libraries; Low income groups; Maternal & child health; Maternal mortality; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Pregnancy; Prenatal care; Prenatal Care - statistics & numerical data; Reproductive health; Sustainable development; Womens health; Africa South of the Sahara; Sub-Saharan Africa; skilled birth delivery; sub-Saharan Africa; utilization services; antenatal care; systematic scoping review
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21040440

Daily, the number of women who die around the world reaches an average of 800; these deaths are a result of obstetric complications in pregnancy and childbirth, and 99% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. This review probes the use of antenatal care (ANC) and skilled birth delivery (SBD) services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and highlights research gaps using Arksey and O'Malley's methodological approach. The screening of abstracts and full text was carried out by two independent authors who ensured the eligibility of data extraction from the included articles. An exploration of the data was undertaken with descriptive analyses. In total, 350 potentially eligible articles were screened, and 137 studies were included for data extraction and analysis. From the 137 included studies, the majority were from Ethiopia (
= 40, 29.2%), followed by Nigeria (
= 30, 21.9%). Most of the studies were published between 2019 and 2023 (
= 84, 61%). Significant trends and challenges with ANC and SBD services emerged from the studies. It is revealed that there are wide gaps in the utilization of ANC and SBD services. Policy attention, intervention strategies to improve access, resources, rural-urban disparity, and women's literacy are recommended to improve the utilization of ANC and SBD services in SSA countries.